Player Comparison: Villa vs Blues

Welcome to the first instalment of seven that will be released ahead of the Aston Villa game next Tuesday (22nd).

As announced yesterday on the site, I will be taking a look at different things ahead of the game and todays article is going to be a player comparison one.

I will be looking at three different players from each team and comparing what is similar about them and what is different about them.

First up I will start in defence. I have chosen to take a look at Paul Caddis and Leandro Bacuna. Both players play at right back for their respective teams, Caddis sometimes more than Bacuna but for the sake of this article, Bacuna will be Villa’s first choice right back.

Looking at Caddis, Blues fans will tell you that nine times out of ten, he is then mister reliable in the team. His performances are particularly solid week in week out and you know what you are getting.

However, his eagerness to go forward could prove to be his downside in the game against the Villa. If he tries to attack too much, we could be stung by a counter attack and that is something that we don’t want to happen.

Caddis is out leading penalty taker and should one come up in the game, I would expect him to take it and put it away.

Like Caddis, Bacuna is a very attack minded full back who has a wicked set piece. However, he isn’t a penalty taker but a free kick taker and Blues will have to be careful that they don’t give away a needless foul in a silly spot because that could cost us like it did against Burnley.

Bacuna likes to get forward, he has pace, power and a venomous shot which may cause Blues goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak a few problems.

However, unlike Caddis, Bacuna is somewhat inexperienced when it comes to one on one defending and from what I have seen, I believe Birmingham City could have some joy against him.

Moving on from the defensive area of the two teams, I will now take a look at two of the holding midfielders.

For the midfield I have chosen Idrissa Gueye from the Clarets and Maikel Kieftenbeld from the Blues. The duo are both new signings this season for their clubs and both have already impressed in the opening month and a half.

Senegal international Gueye has been at the heart of the Villa midfield since he has been brought in by Tim Sherwood and he has tightened up on their leaky midfielder.

He seems to be stringing passes together that start counter attacks and this seems to be one of his biggest strengths.

As well as his tactical awareness on the ball, Gana, as he likes to be called, tends to break up a lot of the play in midfield and I think if any team, not just Blues are to have any luck, the need to think about how to get past him first.

Taking a look at Kieftenbeld, like Gana he has fantastic tactical awareness in the centre of the park. His range of passing is slowly coming out on display and I think the more he plays for the Blues, the more we will see of the talent that he has.

He has a great awareness of where people are on the pitch and for me he is the Championship equivalent of Jonjo Shelvey. Now I know that is a big statement but I honestly think he is that good and if we stand any chance of winning the game, I think Kieftenbeld will play a massive part in it.

Finally, I will head into the last third of the pitch to discuss the goal threats that each team have to offer.

I have picked out the striking partnership of Jordan Ayew and Clayton Donaldson. Both strikers are yet to get off the mark this season as I am writing this article and a goal in this game could give them the boost they need.

Clayton Donaldson is a vital part to how the Blues play and manager Gary Rowett will be hoping to get another great performance out of his main striker when they visit Villa Park.

His willingness to run into the space and create opportunities for other players is like something we haven’t seen for a very long time and I just think if we can get Clayton on the ball then we have a chance of winning this game.

The ability he has to find his team mates and his awareness to get into the right positions is something that could tilt the game in Blues favour.

Like Donaldson, Ayew has the awareness to get himself into the space inside the box but he just hasn’t found the finishing touch as of yet.

With the arrival of Rudy Gestede for £6 million from Blackburn, Ayew has found it difficult to showcase his talents but I think with his pace, power and finishing ability, he could prove to be a player that will cause the Blues a lot of problems on the night.

Join me again tomorrow when the second instalment of the weeks articles will be released.