With Christian Benteke showing signs
he's returning to form and Spurs' 'lax' defending, Aston Villa can end
their five-game wait for a goal on Super Sunday, says Jamie Redknapp...
Aston Villa may be bottom of the Premier League goal-scoring
charts but they’ll get opportunities to improve their tally when they
host Tottenham on Super Sunday.
I saw Villa at QPR and I’m not
unduly worried about them only finding the net four times so far this
term. The goals will come and that’s because Christian Benteke is on his
way back.
He’s had an horrendous injury and to tear your Achilles, for
someone like him, who relies on his power and spring, is a bad one to
pick up. But I could sense on
Monday Night Football, with his
touch and his movement, that he was getting back to the levels he was at
last year. If that’s the case, goals will follow.
Benteke – who
has scored 29 in the past two seasons - needs support, though, and Villa
could really do with some goals from other areas to take the pressure
off the Belgian.
Their midfield three at Loftus Road had nine
goals in 164 games between them and they need to chip in more.
Similarly, Gabriel Agbonlahor doesn’t get enough and Andreas Weimann
isn’t prolific.
Perhaps they could bring Charles N’Zogbia in to a number ten role. He’s got a good left foot and has shown he can find the net.
But
that’s definitely a problem area for them. Finding someone who can
score 8-10 goals a season and slide nice little balls through for the
strikers isn’t easy – but it’s a player Villa need.
Villa’s other problem is that, as well as not scoring, they’re also
conceding cheap goals. When you’re struggling like they are – and the
same goes for QPR and Burnley – you have to battle and not give anything
easy away. At the moment Villa are getting beaten without a whimper and
that’s what will upset Paul Lambert and Roy Keane the most.
Opportunities
They’re
playing against a Tottenham side who give you loads of opportunities
this weekend, though - and that's another reason why we might see
Villa's five-game wait for a goal - and point - come to an end.
At lot has been made of Spurs’ defeat to Newcastle, particularly the
equaliser, which saw Sammy Ameobi catch the Tottenham defence sleeping
at the start of the second half, but it didn’t surprise me at all.
Tottenham
always concede cheap goals and it’s not going to change. I’ve said
before I think Younes Kaboul is a defender who gives you a chance and,
as we saw against Newcastle and Liverpool last season, Spurs so often
come out lax and lacking intensity.
You really don’t know what
Tottenham team are going to turn up each week and it seems Mauricio
Pochettino is finding it more difficult than he expected at Spurs. I
like him as a manager but he’ll need time to get his own players in
because they’re a country mile away from where they need to be.
Spurs need new players because you can’t turn that personnel into a
high-energy, pressing team like Pochettino had at Southampton.
Chance
In Harry Kane the Spurs fans do have someone to get excited about, though – and it’s time he got his shot in the Premier League.
The
England U21 international has netted eight times this season in the
Capital One Cup and Europa League and has done really well. All young
players need opportunities and with him scoring goals and looking
confident now is a great time to hand him a Premier League chance.
His
goal in midweek against Brighton showed he can be a poacher but he’s
also got a great shot on him, so what have Spurs got to lose? It’s not
like they have a brilliant centre forward who is scoring loads of goals
for them - Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor have just two in the
league between them so far.
Spurs are crying out for Kane and I’d be amazed if he doesn’t start against Villa.
Perhaps
he could make the difference on Sunday, but I’m going for a 1-1 draw.
There’s a little bit of discontentment with the manager at Villa Park
and the hosts need a result. I reckon they’ll get it but, as I said, who
knows which Tottenham team will turn up.
GRA
RMA
CHE
QPR
