Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Tuesday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the clash.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon, Emery revealed that both Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are closing in on a return from their respective injury setbacks, but it remained to be seen whether or not either would be fit enough to feature in this game.
In contrast, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley remain sidelined by injury while Evann Guessand is still on international duty, and it was unclear whether or not January signing Alysson would be available yet or not as he settles at the club and begins his adaptation process.
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Nevertheless, a strong Villa starting line-up was expected as we look to build on our win over Nottingham Forest this past weekend, as we produced a positive response after seeing our 11-game winning streak come to an end at Arsenal last week.
As per the club’s post below, we make two changes for the clash with Lucas Digne and Jadon Sancho coming in to replace Ian Maatsen and Emiliano Buendia respectively.
There is a major boost on the bench as Pau does return to the matchday squad, while we have key options available to come on and change the game if needed.
It promises to be a difficult test against a side we have struggled against in recent times, and so it’s hoped that Emery can mastermind a change in fortune and ensure that we produce a top performance and come away with the desired outcome to keep our momentum going in the battle at the top of the table.
Tonight’s starting XI for #CRYAVL 👊 pic.twitter.com/Jsekv9eVov
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 7, 2026
