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KEOWN TALKS TACTICS: Change to a diamond helps Aston Villa to sparkle... Steven Gerrard has a team willing to graft so Philippe Coutinho can have a free role and support the Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings strike partnership

Steven Gerrard wants his best players on the pitch and to find the perfect positions that play to their strengths.

His recent switch of systems allows Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings to play together up top — rather than leaving one of them on the bench or having one play out wide — and allows Philippe Coutinho to play off the front with licence to roam.

Since Gerrard arrived at Aston Villa, he has mostly used the 4-3-3 formation which was successful for him at Rangers. But poor results against relegation contenders prompted a change.