What is the impact of an intense press on this in form Aston Villa side, in regard to going forward as well as defending?

Pressing intensity is a vital part to Aston Villa’s success so far in the 2020/21 season. In 77.7% of games Villa have failed to win this season, they have allowed more than 10 passes per defensive action (PPDA – a measure of pressing intensity).

Passes per defensive action (PPDA) are the amount of passes the defending team allows before making a defensive action such as; tackling, intercepting, fouling or a defensive duel. It was a metric introduced with the aim to quantify pressing intensity for teams.

Several of Villa’s best results this season have come in games where they have applied high levels of pressure to their opponent. The 1-0 win at Leicester (7.2 PPDA), 3-0 win against West Bromwich Albion (9.14 PPDA) and the 2-0 win against Newcastle (9.64 PPDA). This level of pressing intensity allowed Villa to remain on top of their opposition and ultimately shut them out of the game.

The graphic below clearly outlines how Villa can implement an effective press and achieve results. As well as how on the opposite end of the spectrum, a lack of effort in pressing may lead to disappointing performance. Such as against Burnley, Brighton, Leeds and West Ham. For the majority of these games Villa fans were left wondering how they had come away from the game empty handed, I believe the answer to this lies within the teams pressing statistics.

Original Graphic – @pgr_analytics

Pressing every team in the league isn’t always a viable option, therefore its promising knowing Villa are flexible in their style of play. For example, against high quality teams pressing may leave the side exposed and Villa are aware of this. In the historical 7-2 win against Liverpool, Villa allowed 17.55 PPDA. Against Arsenal, Villa allowed 14.8 PPDA. The game plan changes in regard to each opponent. Dean Smith deserves credit for acknowledging the fact an aggressive approach isn’t always the correct approach.

A consistent level of pressure is a well-known characteristic of Marco Bielsa’s Leeds United squad. They allow on average 9.16 PPDA, the lowest in the league. However, they have also conceded the second most goals. Therefore, indicating how useful Villa’s ability to identify games where they should and should not use a high press is. Leeds United’s level of pressure did succeed against Villa however, in a convincing 3-0 win they only allowed 5.61 PPDA, their highest level of pressing all season. In the 9 games Villa have failed to win, six of them were in games where the opponent applied a high level of pressure (below 10 PPDA). Indicating while Villa may benefit from a high press, they may also be susceptible to one.

Villa average 11.7 PPDA each game this season, compared to last year’s 13.42 PPDA. Although not applying high levels of pressure every game, the increased level of average pressing intensity has played a part in Villa’s much improved form this season. This isn’t the entire reason Villa are playing so well, but I do believe there is a correlation of both performances and results when Villa do apply pressure.