It is no coincidence that Aston Villa’s dramatic slump in form has coincided with the absence of defensive rock Tyrone Mings.
The England international picked up a hamstring issue in the defeat to Leicester City, and Villa have won just a single Premier League game since. He could be set to return this weekend for the vital relegation clash with Sean Dyche’s Burnley and Dean Smith must reintroduce his strongest centre back to the fold as soon as possible.
In Aston Villa’s last four games without Mings in the backline, they have conceded eight goals. In their previous four games with him, they shipped six but faced Manchester United, Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers in those fixtures. Whereas in their more recent games the newly-promoted side have been all but offering up free points to their relegation rivals. Most recently the Villans conceded three against ten-man Watford, which is 20 per cent of the abysmal 15 goals the Hornets have scored this term.
So far this season Aston Villa have kept a meagre four clean sheets since their return to the Premier League, and Mings has been involved in all of them bar one. That was the 1-0 victory over Norwich City, but recent results suggest without Mings available Villa have to massively up their scoring rate to stand a chance of registering points. The numbers are startling, with Mings in the starting eleven Smith’s side have conceded on average 1.5 goals per game. During his four-game absence that has risen spectacularly to 2.75, and no team can beat the drop conceding with such an astonishingly high frequency.
Further evidence the England international is irreplaceable comes in the form of his average number of recoveries per match, 6.75, meaning he is Villa’s main contributor in winning the ball back. Mings has also provided over six clearances a game to relieve the pressure on Aston Villa’s defence.
Smith may not have been able to select the centre back due to injury, but he needs to be reintroduced at the first available opportunity because his side will not stay afloat without his influence in the 2019/20 campaign.
