Talking Tactics: Emery must tweak Villa formula after Toon troubles

Aston Villa's Champions League challenge has hit a major slump. 

Unai Emery's team have only won one of their last five Premier League games and lost to a depleted Newcastle in midweek.

The defeat has seen them slip down to fifth place in the table, with Tottenham having moved above them on goal difference.

As the Villans prepare to visit Sheffield United later today, we take a look at what Emery needs to do to get his side firing again. 

Home record

Aston Villa's success this season has very much been built upon their home form. 

They won their first eight Premier League games of the season at Villa Park, which made their more erratic away record less of a concern. 

The 3-1 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday means that the Villans have only won one of their last three games on home turf. 

It was a loss that ended a 17-match unbeaten run in the top tier at Villa Park and stretched back until last season. 

After the match, Emery said: "The loss has to come. Tonight is one day. What we did was fantastic and we can’t lose perspective. 

"The perspective is against a team like Newcastle, playing the way they did tonight, it is not easy to win." 

Newcastle loss

Emery may have fronted a philosophical attitude to the loss on Matchday 22, but the manner of the defeat will have surely concerned him. 

Villa play with a high defensive line and a 4-2-2-2 formation in which the full-backs and forwards provide the width, while the two lines of midfielders compress the centre of the pitch. 

Eddie Howe won the tactical battle with Emery by finding ways to nullify the hosts' attacking threat and cause problems for them defensively. 

Going forward, Newcastle used the space they had in wide positions to put balls in behind the Villa defence, with Anthony Gordon being a frequent runner and outlet for the Magpies.

The Tynesiders' high-pressing restricted the attempts of Emery's team to play out from the defence and through midfield. 

But although Newcastle went 3-0 up, there seemed to be hope for Villa when Leon Bailey's introduction changed the momentum of the game. 

The Midlands club pulled a goal back through Ollie Watkins but Howe quickly responded by switching to a three-man central defence, which restricted Bailey's threat. 

Emery puzzle

Eventually, the opposition will work out the strengths and weaknesses of a successful team. 

Aston Villa may have reached that stage, where subtle tweaks are now needed to continually surprise their opponents. 

The improvement since Emery took charge has been unmatched and it is down to his tactical strategies, rather than big spending. 

As the Spanish coach pointed out after Tuesday's defeat, his team are outperforming sides with greater resources. 

He said: "We are in the top five but there are other teams bigger contenders than us to get there. One is Newcastle, another is Chelsea." 

With Aston Villa's existing European commitments, it was always going to be tough to last the course in the Champions League race. 

A victory at Sheffield United would be a major boost having only been able to draw with them in the reverse fixture. 

Villa's pace in attack will be somewhat blunted by the Blades' deep-lying defence, presenting Emery with a puzzle as to how to break them down.