Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has provided our latest team news ahead of our Premier League encounter against Newcastle Utd.
Villa host the Magpies on Tuesday night as we look to get back to winning ways following consecutive goalless draws against Everton and Chelsea in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively.
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It won’t be easy despite the poor recent league form of the visitors, and so it had been hoped that we would have good news on the injury front to have a strengthened squad at Emery’s disposal.
Unfortunately, that won’t be the case in this game barring one potential boost, as the Villa boss provided updates on Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Jhon Duran and Jacob Ramsey.
“Pau Torres is out, Lucas Digne is out and Jacob Ramsey is doubtful,” he told the media, as per VillaTV, “Bertrand Traoré is still with his national team, while Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendía are still out.
“Robin Olsen is ready and available, Jhon Durán is also out.”
As we’ve seen during his absence, it’s a blow to still be without Pau Torres given his influence in both phases of the game, and it’s hoped that he isn’t far off from making a comeback now as it was certainly be a huge lift for all concerned to have him back.
Alex Moreno will continue at left-back to soften the blow of Digne remaining sidelined, while Duran’s absence leaves us light up top in terms of having depth behind Ollie Watkins.
It sounds a little more promising on Jacob Ramsey as we’ll wait to see if he makes the matchday squad, as it’s hoped he can at least make the bench and get minutes to start working his way back to full fitness and form.
While we’ve had a more relaxed schedule this month, there is a busy February ahead of us, and so it’s vital that we start moving towards a fully-fit squad in the coming days and weeks to give us the best possible chance of continuing to compete on multiple fronts.
