Aston Villa: Options, dilemmas and headaches‏

Article by Stephen Attridge

If Aston Villa have a fit Christian Benteke on Sunday, it goes without saying they will have a far better chance of getting a result. Also if deemed fully fit he will start.

What Paul Lambert will be working hard on this week is which forwards are going to be around him and in which formation.

This after all is a manager who likes to change formations to suit the occasion.

So what are we in for this Sunday against high flying Spurs?

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Lambert has been impressed with Kozak in Benteke's absence, he has notched a goal already and his work rate and overall contribution is why the villa manager invested in him so heavily. This after all is the blueprint for the squad.

There has also been a suggestion that both Kozak and Benteke will play. But what formation would this be in? A more traditional 4-4-2?

This poses problems however for Weinnman and Gabby as they would be employed as more rigid midfield players surely reducing their influence.

The most success they seem to have is within a 4-3-3 formation playing just off Benteke. This has the double benefit of 4-5-1 when we havn't got the ball. With the work rate of these two, it allows the formation to be successful.

Villa have also had good results with a 3-5-2 formation. This is certainly an option for accommodating both Benteke and Kozak but it totally dependant on having 3 centre halves fit which is possible at the moment. Touch wood.

I think Lambert has been clever overall. He has bought players that not only work their socks off but are flexible enough to fit into different formations. This incidentally is another good argument for buying young players- these lads are not stuck in their ways, and so can easily change and adapt.

The real challenge for Lambert moving forwards is going to be getting the right blend when all our forwards are on form. What formation against which team. Who to drop, or just shout charge and play them all...

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