OPINION
Dean Smith’s claim that Aston Villa will definitely score against Leeds United on Sunday is baffling, provocative and massively ill-judged.
For an experienced manager to big up his side to such an extent ahead of a match for which his side should not need any motivation or spurring-on is perplexing.
For sure, explain why Villa’s players are so looking forward to Sunday’s showdown in the Midlands, but offering goal guarantees against the league leaders is daft beyond all measures.
Smith has already written Marcelo Bielsa’s pre-match team talk for him, and the Argentine should print out the following words and pin them on to every visiting player’s locker.
“We’re looking forward to Leeds United at home,” Smith told Birmingham Live. “It will be close to a full house. They’re a team up there doing well and one we believe we can beat.
“I know we’ve got players who will score goals, that’s one guarantee. It doesn’t matter who we play against – Stoke, Leeds, West Brom, we will score. “We didn’t create as many chances as we would have liked today [against Stoke], but we still got another two goals which was important.”
Maybe, Smith isn’t aware that Leeds have won five matches on the trot, and kept clean sheets in four of them despite losing four of their six best and most senior defenders to serious injuries – Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Gaetano Berardi and Stuart Dallas.
Whatever side Bielsa puts out at Villa Park will be well drilled, organised and primed to carry out their manager’s instructions to the letter.
Villa do indeed have an attacking weaponry beyond most of the other clubs in the division and have netted seven more league goals than Leeds, who are seven places ahead of them in the table.
But United have conceded just 18 goals from 22 Championship matches, bettered only by Middlesbrough (16 from 22) and are incredibly hard to break down.
Smith’s taunts could massively backfire against tactical master Bielsa.