Potter: I expect reaction from hurt Villa

Graham Potter knows that his side will come up against a wounded Aston Villa at the Amex tomorrow and is expecting a reaction from Dean Smith’s men.

Alex Stedman

2020-01-17T07:00:00Z

Graham Potter speaks to the media ahead of Saturday's game.

Sergio Aguero's hat-trick, two goals from Riyad Mahrez and one by Gabriel Jesus gave Pep Guardiola’s men an emphatic 6-1 win at Villa Park last Sunday, and the Albion boss is wary of a backlash this weekend.

He said, “They played the champions last weekend and that type of result can happen. They had some good results before that, so we know they’ll want to respond to last Sunday.

“We know we have to attack and defend well. They’ve moved to a back five recently and that can mean it’s sometimes tough to create chances. They have good players and when you lose the ball they can hurt you, that’s just the nature of the Premier League and so we have to be on our game to get a result.”

“It’s been nice to have a full week of training after a busy Christmas period and we’ve had a lot of time for prepare for the game, so we feel good in that respect."

The head coach also reflected on the recent form of his team, and pointed to fine margins as being the difference between Albion having more than their current total of 24 points.

“You can’t say you haven’t got what you’ve deserved, football’s quite simple in the fact that you have to score more than the opposition to win a game," said Potter.

“We’ve had some good performances and have picked up four points from our last four matches – away games with Tottenham and Everton and home matches with Chelsea and AFC Bournemouth, so that’s probably a par for about where we are.

“We played well against Palace and got a point, we didn’t play well against Sheffield United, although we weren’t as bad as people made out and only narrowly lost the game. The margins in this league are very small which is why it’s the toughest competition in the world.”

Aaron Connolly in training ahead of the game with Villa.

Ireland striker Aaron Connolly was left out of the squad for last weekend’s game against Everton and Potter stressed the importance of managing the workload for the young forward as he continues to develop.

“We must remember that he’s still only 19 years old, he’s learning the game and learning how to be a Premier League footballer," said Potter. "That’s just a natural process because this time last year he was playing in the under-23s.

“He’s taken a step up to play in the most competitive league in the world so it’s probably a bit unfair for us to just expect him to be available for every single minute.

“We need to help him improve and be a better player and professional, but his attributes are unique and he brings something different. I don’t think we have anyone else like him in the group.”