New front line and dynamic midfield for Steven Gerrard in new look Aston Villa XI

The former Liverpool captain's new team are lacking in confidence right now but a shake-up in formation and personnel could reignite their season.

Having lost Jack Grealish in the summer transfer window to Manchester City, Villa used that money to make a raft of signings which, unfortunately for former boss Dean Smith, did not work out.

Leon Bailey came in from Bayer Leverkusen, Emiliano Buendia arrived from Norwich City while Danny Ings joined from Southampton.

They haven't, though, been able to help push the Villans up the Premier League table.

With that said, there is still a lot of talent for Gerrard to work with as he looks to transform the club's season around without even considering transfers.

So how might they look under the Liverpool legend? talkSPORT takes a look.

Goalkeeper

One thing that is for certain is who will be lining up in between the sticks for Villa.

Arriving from Arsenal in the 2020 summer transfer window, Emiliano Martínez has been one of the few shining lights for the club this season, although even he's had a slight dip in form.

Not only is he massive for his club, he also helped Lionel Messi win his first ever trophy for Argentina and it's almost certain that Gerrard will be relying on him for the remainder of the campaign.

Defence

Having been made captain following Grealish's departure, Tyrone Mings is also set to be one of the first names in Gerrard's team sheet, even if Smith dropped him for the 4-1 loss against West Ham.

Alongside him could be Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash and Matt Targett as the new Villa manager could revert to a defence that worked well for most of last season under Smith.

That means Axel Tuanzebe and Kourtney Hause will have to settle for a place on the bench.

Midfield

Two players who will work tirelessly for the team are Scotland's John McGinn and Brazil's Douglas Luiz.

Those two possess a lot of energy and cover a lot of distance and, as such, are almost certain to be in Gerrard's strongest eleven.

The one spare spot that is up for grabs could go to Villa academy product, Jacob Ramsey.

The 20-year-old featured regularly for Smith and given his potential and his suitability to play in a midfield three, he could continue his progression under Gerrard.

Attack

Having been the replacements for Grealish, it's highly likely Gerrard will line up an attack of Buendia, Ings and Bailey.

The trio are yet to start a game together this season due to injuries and form, but once they are fully fit and firing, they could be a match for any defence this season.

Given Gerrard is likely to employ a 4-3-3 as he did at Rangers and is Danny Ings too good to not be chosen, it may mean one of the club's star players, Ollie Watkins is left out.

He has the potential to be used out wide but, as Everton found out, Bailey can be an exceptional prospect on his day.

How Aston Villa could look under Gerrard…