Two things Aston Villa must do to get a positive result against Everton

Aston Villa are back in the Premier League after a three-year absence and they have certainly endured a poor start to the new campaign.

The Villans produced a scintillating run of form to reach last season’s Championship play-off places, before beating Derby County in the play-off finals at the Wembley Stadium.

Boss Dean Smith is keen to ensure Aston Villa’s return to the top-flight isn’t a short one and signed as many as 13 players during the summer transfer window.

However, Smith hasn’t found the response he was looking from his team as the Villans are stuck just outside the relegation zone in the early running, without any points on the board. 

Defeats to Tottenham and Bournemouth prove just how difficult it is for a newly-promoted team to get points on board and although these are early days, Smith would like to head into next month’s international break with some points on the board.

Next up for the Villans is a Friday night game against Everton, who are the only team to have kept two clean sheets this season. That being said, here are two things Smith must do to get a positive result against Everton.

1. Keep the trust in Wesley Moraes

Villa raised a lot of eyebrows when they splashed a lot of money to sign Wesley Moraes from Club Brugge in a bid to replace on-loan striker Tammy Abraham, who returned to Chelsea at the end of last season.

Abraham played a pivotal role in Villa’s promotion success, scoring 27 goals. It was always difficult to replace him and for the hype surrounding the addition of Wesley Moraes, the Brazilian has failed to live by it.

Despite Wesley, who has started Villa’s first two games, not setting the world alight, Smith must keep his faith in the young towering striker and start him against Everton. With proper service, goals will eventually flow for the burly Brazilian.

2. Nullify Gylfi Sigurdsson’s influence

Most of Everton’s attack goes through Gylfi Sigurdsson, who plays the No.10 role in Marco Silva’s 4-2-3-1 system. He can split open the defence in one blink of an eye with his incisive passing and vision.

Sigurdsson hasn’t scored a goal for the Toffees in the new season so far, but he’ll again be their main man in the attack on Friday at Villa Park. Smith must use either one of Douglas Luiz or John McGinn to keep him in check and try marking him out of the game.

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If Villa can keep the Icelandic international quiet, chances of getting a positive result against Everton will become higher.