With the number of passes per Premier League game having plummeted to a 15-year low, football has looked a bit different this season. Teams are more direct. Long throws are all the rage. And Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has an explanation.

"I think this is a consequence of how it is changing tactically overall in football," Emery tells Sky Sports as he is shown a graphic highlighting these passing numbers in an office at the club's training ground. "Football is becoming man-to-man all over the pitch."

He explains: "With teams playing man-to-man, pressing against their direct opponent, even in a medium block, trying to jump man-to-man, we are seeing a lot more of this than last year. It is because teams in England, and in Italy are performing well doing it.