Aston Villa are in an incredibly precarious position towards the foot of the Premier League table.

As it stands, they are in the relegation zone in 19th position. They are two points adrift of 17th-placed Watford and, with just 10 games left, they are in real danger of dropping back down to the Championship.

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Fortunately for Dean Smith, there is some good news. According to The Telegraph, John McGinn is targeting a return for the Villans against Newcastle on March 21st, which will then bring an end to 11 games without the Scotland international – he has been suffering with an ankle injury.

The 25-year-old started the campaign in impressive form, scoring three times in his first seven appearances. However, his performances dropped off after that – he has failed to score since September 28th in the league.

The 4-2-3-1 formation was the set-up that was used most often that term, which helped them to fifth place in the table. During the 2018/19 campaign, McGinn, along with Jack Grealish, was vital to the Villa Park outfit’s promotion push – he scored eight times and provided 10 assists as the Villans went up via the play-off final, whilst Grealish scored six and provided eight. With the latter in the number 10 role and the former in a central position slightly further back, Villa flourished.

Bizarrely, the set-up that they used to such great effect last term has been used just once in the Premier League this season – and even that brought a 1-o victory against Norwich. Why Smith has decided not to use it more frequently considering their struggles is a mystery, but it is not too late to revert back to what works.

Instead, he has used 3-4-3, 3-5-2, 4-1-4-1 and 4-3-3 set-ups instead, all of which have failed to recreate last season’s term. It seems that Grealish benefits from having McGinn slightly behind him – he was far from his majestic best against Man City in the number 10 role in the League Cup final, yet did well last term.

McGinn and Grealish are, arguably, Villa’s two most influential players – getting a tune out of the pair of them is essential to any survival hopes.

As the former Hibernian man approaches his return, Smith must go back to what he, and his players, know best.

Meanwhile, Villa fans slate this key figure.