4) Don’t be afraid of defending deep
Villa were destroyed at the Emirates Stadium recently by playing too high a line – you know you’re doing something wrong when even Olivier Giroud is scoring after getting on the shoulder of your last defender!
A repeat of that day could be disastrous for Sherwood at Wembley, and the instruction has to be for players like Ron Vlaar, who are not the quickest, to settle for playing in the penalty area, not allowing space in behind for players like Alexis Sanchez or Theo Walcott.
This will, of course, require a team effort from the midfielders in front of the back four, but Villa are well-equipped to shield their defence with players like Fabian Delph and Ashley Westwood.