🌳🏰 Nottingham Forest’s Rising Star Shines Bright: Unleashing the Powerhouse! 🌟
Aston Villa’s win over Nottingham Forest last weekend was surprisingly the first time this year they had recorded back to back Premier League victories.
The first few weeks of 2024 represented a minor bump in the road for Unai Emery, but he has seen his side rebound well in recent weeks and a clash against Luton Town represents an ideal opportunity to secure another three points.
The Spaniard could make a few changes to his starting XI tomorrow evening in order to freshen it up, as a couple of players did not perform as well as anticipated against Forest
Alex Moreno’s game in numbers vs Nottingham Forest
The left-back was the first-choice pick in the area due to Lucas Digne’s injury, but he was not at his best last weekend.
From a defensive viewpoint, Moreno won just four of his nine contested duels, lost possession six times and was dribbled past on three occasions, proving that he was a weak point at the back.
He didn’t even play the full game either, being replaced by Digne in the 59th minute, making these statistics look even worse considering he was on the pitch for less than an hour.
Going forward, the Spaniard made just one key pass, failed to deliver an accurate cross and succeeded with just one dribble, while he was given a match rating of 6/10 by Birmingham World for his display.
It is clear change is needed tomorrow and this suggests that Digne will return to the starting XI.
Lucas Digne’s statistics this season
When healthy, the £120k-per-week gem has been Emery’s first choice option on the left side of defence, starting 23 matches across all competitions, and he has the attributes to cause Luton problems.
Digne currently ranks third among his teammates in the top flight this season for key passes per game (1.4), along with ranking eighth for big chances created (two) and fourth for interceptions per game (0.9), showcasing his class across different attacking and defensive metrics.
Hailed as a “machine” by journalist Ty Bracey last year, the defender even ranks highly when compared to fellow positional peers
Indeed, across the previous 365 days in the top five European leagues, Digne ranks in the top 12% for shoot-creating actions per 90 (3.06), while even ranking in the top 7% for aerial duels won per 90 (1.77) and the top 14% for touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 (2.22).
These figures prove that when he is fit, the former Everton dynamo can add something extra to Villa’s attack.
Three points tomorrow would consolidate Villa’s grip on fourth spot in the table and Emery can perhaps begin to dream of securing qualification for the Champions League next season.
With the Midlands side into the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, they may have a great chance at winning the competition, but games against the elite is the ultimate aim for the former Paris Saint-Germain boss.
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