Aston Villa have to find the solution to their looming left back crisis as they go through the congested fixtures.
Aston Villa begin their crucial period with an unfortunate event as both of their left backs, Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri, have suffered injuries. It is bad timing for Unai Emery’s side. After the assessment for the latter, the Spanish boss believes they need to resolve the crisis which might take several weeks, as reported in Birmingham mail.
“Ruggeri, I don’t know exactly how long it will be, but some weeks he will be out. More than one month. We must try to find solutions as Maatsen is not available. I think he should be in a few days, one week or two weeks joining us.”
So, what can The Lions do to resolve the left back crisis?
The most possible doable solution so far is relying on Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He is the only available player who can play left full back. The West Ham loanee is expected to start in each game until Ian Maatsen returns to the pitch.
Wan-Bissaka’s deputy is none other than Tyrone Mings. The 33-year old centre back had been a left back during his early years of his career while playing for Ipswich Town and Bournemouth.
In Ipswich from 2013 to 2015, left back was his main position. Mings was deployed 51 times, registering one goal and seven assists. Meanwhile, in Bournemouth, he played as left back three times. So, training him as a left back again can be an alternative for several weeks.
Promoting a youngster from the reserve team is another considerable option. At the moment, the versatile Rodrigo Fortes is one viable possibility. The 18-year old left back has featured 17 times so far since 2024. He can even be pushed to be more offensive as left wing.
Another possible though rather unlikely one is modifying the formation. Playing with back three and optimising John McGinn’s versatility could be an unexpected idea to stun the opposition sides.
Emery could try to employ a non-symmetrical 3-3-3-1 formation. The lineup can still be the same with Lindelof and Pau Torres in the center, Cash on the right flank. In the midfield, McGinn is given a freer position on the left flank as a wing back and would drop deep as the left back during the defensive phase. The double pivot roles are still to Kamara and Gomes. Meanwhile, Manzambi is also given a freer role to roam the left wing, central midfielder or number 10 alongside Buendia, whereas Mbaye or Alysson will be operating wide on the right flank. Nicolas Jackson is still the first choice upfront.
Another possibility would be using 3-4-2-1 formation. This might be useful for the Premier League games in which Emery can optimise Taylor Harwood-Bellis who is excluded in the Champions League squad. He can be one of the back three defenders alongside Lindelof and Torres. McGinn will be operating as left wing back and Matty Cash on the right, the same role he did in Poland national team recently. Kamara and Gomes keep their place. Behind Jackson, Manzambi and Buendia will be the double number 10 but the former can drop deep when necessary to get more involved in winning the ball in the second line.
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