As we advance into a crunch period in our season, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will look to utilise his squad strength in depth more heavily to cope with a challenging fixture schedule.
While it’s already been a busy start to December after three games in seven days, there is no let up between now and the end of the month, as Villa play a further five games over the span of 22 days.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Villa battle to scrappy win vs Southampton
That will test our resilience and injury resistance as it’s asking a lot of key individuals, and so that makes it imperative that we see others either continue to step up as they’ve been doing already this season, or start to make a key contribution in the coming weeks when called upon.
It starts with a trip to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday night, as having opted to make changes this weekend in our win over Southampton, we are likely to see more rotation and turnover from Emery as he looks to keep everyone healthy and involved.
Tyrone Mings
After a shaky return from a long-term injury layoff, which included that nightmare moment at Club Brugge, Mings was our Man of the Match against Brentford in midweek as he produced a commanding and colossal performance in the heart of the Villa backline.
While he could return to the XI in Leipzig as we’ll need another strong defensive display, it’s crucial that he builds on his last outing and gives us that presence at the back to make us harder to beat as we’ve been struggling for defensive solidity and stability for some time now.
Pau Torres is an exceptional player and he’ll continue to be heavily involved, but there will be times where Emery wants a stronger defensive option marshalling the back four, and Mings will be the man for the job.
Ian Maatsen
We’ve seen positive things from the Dutchman since he arrived in the summer, but it must be difficult for him to ultimately play back-up to Lucas Digne, both from a mental perspective and also in trying to find rhythm and consistency in his performances when he is selected to start.
He needs to continue improving and adapting to what Emery wants, as he has all the physical attributes and qualities to be a key cog in our system and structure, and it’s hoped that we see more of him in the coming weeks.
Digne’s form has made it difficult for him to break into the side, but there is an argument that Maatsen should now be pushing hard to make that position his own after his big-money summer move, and he offers a touch more in both phases.
Ross Barkley
Along with Jhon Duran, Barkley’s been one of our more impactful players to come off the bench or come into the side and have a direct influence in how we play and fare in terms of results.
It was somewhat of a surprise that he didn’t start this weekend in our win over Southampton as it felt like an ideal opportunity to rest Youri Tielemans, given the Belgian international has taken on a heavy workload so far this season and it looks to be impacting his performances.
Nevertheless, Barkley will get his chances in the next few weeks, whether that’s alongside Tielemans or perhaps one of Boubacar Kamara or Amadou Onana, and he has the qualities that should make him more than capable of setting the tempo, dictating and controlling possession and to play the way Emery wants us to.
Jaden Philogene
While his work ethic has been at a high level, we’ve yet to see the attacking threat that made Philogene such a stand-out performer for Hull City last season, and ultimately convinced Emery to bring him back to Villa this past summer.
The 22-year-old looks low on confidence and is hesitant to try too much as he wants to play his part for the team, but we need him to take more risks, take players on and make an impact in the final third.
With Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey sidelined by injury, Emery may look to him more often in our upcoming games, and hopefully, that trust and belief will be repaid with big performances.
Emiliano Buendia
It was always going to be difficult for the Argentine playmaker to get back up to speed after such a serious injury, as it’s hard in his position and role to find that sharpness and clinical edge without a consistent run of games.
While he has gradually built up his minutes and made an important impact in the Carabao Cup before our exit from the competition, it will be a challenge for him now to earn a more significant role in the Premier League and Champions League.
However, there will be times and scenarios in which we need his creative flair and technical quality to unlock a defence, and so it’s hoped that he can firstly start to turn these 1-10 minute run-outs into something more substantial, giving him a platform to start making a bigger impression this season as he searches for form and a decisive touch in our attack.