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This article is part of Football FanCast's The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Aston Villa return to Premier League action on Monday night as they welcome West Ham to Villa Park.
Domestic football has taken a back seat in the past two weeks as the first international break of the season took priority.
Tyrone Mings was one of the Villa players to earn international recognition by receiving a call up from Gareth Southgate, but he did not feature in either of their Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The 26-year-old and his teammates will be looking to turn their fortunes around in the Premier League after succumbing to three defeats in four matches.
There's one change Dean Smith should make to garner more success in midfield, especially after his recent comments.
On the Chalkboard
The Villa boss revealed that Marvelous Nakamba is pushing for a first-team position following his performances during training in the past couple of weeks.
He had begun the season injured, but featured in their 6-1 Carabao Cup drubbing of Crewe Alexandra and he duly impressed.
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The 25-year-old could add some defensive stability to the side in midfield, considering they have leaked six goals already this season – keeping just one clean sheet.
In the game mentioned above, Nakamba attempted three tackles, which was tied for the most in the Villa starting XI that day as well as recording the most interceptions with three, per WhoScored.
His heatmap from the game shows just how deep a role he played.
Douglas Luiz this season has been somewhat inconsistent in showing the quality that had him heavily praised by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola – averaging a rating of just 6.60.
In his four Premier League appearances this season, he has only managed an average of 1.3 tackles per game and a meagre 0.8 interceptions, which is below what the Zimbabwe international produced the other week.
The former Girona ace’s heatmap from their last match shows his presence all over the pitch, but it failed to have a significant impact on any specific area while Nakamba’s was far more heavily centred on the defensive side of midfield.
Smith’s men need to stop leaking goals and that can be aided by adding the presence of the 5 foot 10 man to the base of their three-man midfield.
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