Aston Villa midfielder Leander Dendoncker should be given a chance in his team's upcoming matches, journalist Ashley Preece has claimed.

The Lowdown: Poor results continue

Steven Gerrard's side suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday, as their below-par start to the Premier League season continues.

It was actually Villa's first defeat in the league since the end of August, but only one win has been recorded in that time and performances have generally been disappointing.

Dendoncker joined from Wolves late in the summer transfer window but he has so far been restricted to just three substitute appearances in the league for his new club.

The Latest: Preece calls for Dendoncker to start

Writing in a Q&A for The Birmingham Mail, Preece called for the Belgian to be used in Villa's upcoming games, even if it means necessitating a change of formation.

Ahead of forthcoming fixtures against Fulham and Brentford, the journalist said:

"It’d be nice to see something a little different; Chelsea changed formation I think three times yesterday and kept Villa guessing. Dendoncker deserve a crack in that midfield; what about reverting to a 4-2-3-1? It’s down to the manager to get it right."

The Verdict: Freshen things up

It certainly feels like Gerrard could do with making a few tweaks for the trip to Fulham on Thursday, with things arguably growing a little stagnant of late.

Douglas Luiz and John McGinn weren't been at their best against either Nottingham Forest or Chelsea, and it may be that Dendoncker is preferred to one of them at Craven Cottage and given a chance to prove his worth.

The 27-year-old possesses power and quality on the ball, averaging a 94.2% pass completion rate across three UEFA Nations League appearances for Belgium this year, and he could be someone who changes Villa's fortunes for the better.

In order to find that out, though, the manager needs to give him a few opportunities from the start, rather than relying on piecemeal substitute minutes.