View: Aston Villa cannot give Miguel Almiron a sniff in Newcastle clash
There have been some surprise packages so far in the 2022/23 Premier League season and Aston Villa will be facing one in Miguel Almiron on Saturday.
Almiron, 28, has been completely reborn under Eddie Howe and despite the Magpies’ immense financial backing, they now have the once out-of-favour Paraguayan as their main attacking threat.
Eight goals so far in the 2022/23 season has seen Almiron be the catalyst with Newcastle currently sitting in the Champions League places. Unfortunately, Aston Villa are the next team to face the 28-year-old as he looks to continue his impressive form.
Now, how does Aaron Danks’ team stop Almiron from getting on the scoresheet at St James’ Park on Saturday (29 October)? Essentially, keeping him as far from their goal as possible is probably the best route for Villa to go down.
The 28-year-old is currently massively overperforming his expected goals so far this season. So far Almiron has 3.2 more goals than his XG (Wyscout), and this indicates he is making the most of relatively hard chances.
His wondergoal against Fulham and brilliant individual goal against Tottenham are just two examples of Almiron scoring from areas where he simply has no right to score from.
The Paraguayan has been operating predominantly from the right wing which means Ashley Young must get tight to prevent him from using his excellent ball-carrying and dribbling skills.
In Newcastle’s win at Tottenham, he managed seven dribbles and carried the ball further than 30 meters, four times. Villa must not allow him space to drive into and around their box because they will get punished.
If the Villans fail to stop Almiron at source, there is every chance he will produce yet another moment of brilliance for the Magpies on Saturday.
In other Aston Villa news, Lucas Digne could be available for clash vs Newcastle