Liam Ridgewell shared that he thought Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion’s Championship play-off clash would come down to whose defence was stronger.
The former Villan and West Brom player heaped praise on Villa defender Tyrone Mings before sharing his concern about Baggies centre-back Ahmed Hegazi.
Ridgewell shared that in his opinion the 28-year-old hadn’t been in good form as of late and had been in and out of the team as a result.
However the 34-year-old quickly added that he thought if the Baggies could keep the Villians quiet on Saturday then they have a really good chance of reaching the play-off final due to the second leg being at the Hawthorns.
“It’s going to be one about the defences and I totally agree with ya,” said Ridgewell on talkSPORT (Saturday May 11th, 9:21am).
“I think Tyrone Mings that Villa got in was a very good signing, obviously they’ve had a few injuries and he’s done well for them.
“And West Brom have been chopping and change, Hegazi hasn’t had too many good games as of late and he’s been in and out of them.
“So it’ll be interesting to see who is stronger in defence and how they play both games, the Villa game being at home first…if West Brom can keep them quiet, keep them to 1-0 they may have a really good chance of keeping them quiet.”
OPINION
Every pundit under the sun has been hyping up Aston Villa and West Brom’s clash due to both sides being strong going forward, however Ridgewell clearly thinks the game will be won at the back. While the 34-year-old may be a bit bias to think this due to being a defender himself, he may actually be onto something. Both Villa and the Baggies can score goals for fun on their day, so they could easily match each other in that department. However if one side were able to raise their game defensively and neuter the other’s threat, the game would be in their hands. Ahead of the game taking place, it’s hard to know who is defensively stronger. West Brom conceded 62 goals in 41 league games this season whereas the Villans conceded 61 goals in their 41 league outings, so there’s not much in it. However Ridgewell may be right to be concerned about Hegazi as he is arguably the Baggies’ most talented defender and he’s going into the play-offs in poor form, where as the Villans’ star centre-back, Mings, seems to be unstoppable at the moment.