Damn Right! I think we should play him alongside Rickie, not a fan of him playing on the left but if Guly takes Lallana's place then we seem stronger defensively on the left and Rod can play more of a natural striker role. Thoughts?
Well I think there are 2 options that Nigel has: play 4-2-3-1 with Guly on the left and dropping Rodriguez to the bench. Or, play 4-4-2 with Ramirez on the left with Rodriguez up front with Rickie. I would go for the former because I hate it when Ramirez is played on the left, he is so much more influential in the middle.
Perish the thought, but what about dropping Lambert to the bench? Then we could play 4231 AND have Rodriguez running on to stuff.
Not for me. Villa have been shocking defensively from crosses into the box. Rickie will cause them all sorts of problems in the air.
That case we're probably better off keeping Rodriguez on the bench. Hopefully Clyne is back so his overlapping runs can create space for Puncheon to whip diagonal balls to Lambert at the far post. Bonus if Shaw and Guly can do it too. Probably won't see so much of Gaston, but whatever works.