Aston Villa face a difficult trip to Elland Road to take on Leeds on Thursday night, but Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne have handed Steven Gerrard a double fitness boost.
Villa have secured back-to-back clean sheets and wins in the Premier League after seeing off both Brighton and Southampton over the past fortnight, and having put a poor run of form behind us, Gerrard will be eager to build on this upturn in results and maintain our momentum.
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It certainly won’t be easy to do that against a Leeds side battling relegation this season, while this game will also be new manager Jesse Marsch’s first one in charge at home.
That in turn will no doubt result in the home faithful creating a noisy atmosphere, but Villa will be in confident mood after recent results and we will be further buoyed by good news on the team news front.
As per Gerrard in his press conference on Wednesday, he confirmed that both Konsa and Digne are back available after missing the win over Southampton due to COVID.
“We’re in a good place. We’ve got the majority of the team fit and available.
“There’s only Marvelous Nakamba who we’re waiting for to come back into the group.
“Carney Chukwuemeka will join the group, Ezri Konsa’s back available, Lucas Digne’s back, so I’ve got some tough decisions from now until kick-off. That’s the position I like to be in.”
Given the impressive performances from Calum Chambers and Ashley Young in that encounter, it remains to be seen if both Konsa and Digne do indeed walk straight back into the starting XI, but ultimately given the quality that they possess, it would make sense if they were recalled immediately.
Further, the Villa boss added that Carney Chukwuemeka is also back with the group after his injury setback, and so he’ll be in contention to face Leeds too.
That ultimately leaves Marvelous Nakamba as the only unavailable senior player as he is expected to return next month from his knee injury, but that’s positive news for Villa in the more immediate future as we look to make it three consecutive wins in midweek.
