Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that we will have a practically full squad available to face Tottenham this weekend.
It’s a crunch showdown with Spurs, as the result could prove to be decisive in the battle for a place in Europe next season, and given we’re three points adrift of them heading into the encounter, it is must-win territory for us with only three games remaining in the Premier League campaign.
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With that in mind, Emery would have been hoping to have as many options available as possible, and while Leon Bailey and Boubacar Kamara came off the bench last weekend in the defeat to Wolves, Philippe Coutinho was an unused substitute and Matty Cash failed to make the matchday squad.
The injured quartet have missed a big part of our run-in thus far, and although we received another significant boost last time out with Diego Carlos returning to action, it’s important we have quality options and depth on the bench to change games if needed too.
In turn, Emery delivered positive news on Thursday in his pre-match press conference, confirming that he expects to see Cash make the squad this weekend, and that we may potentially see some of them play significant minutes, albeit they are still short of full match fitness and may not have a full 90 minutes performance in them just yet.
“It’s the first time in the last month we have everybody ready to be in the squad for Saturday,” Emery told the media, as per VillaTV. “Only Jed Steer is out, but Cash, Kamara, Bailey, Coutinho – in the last match they were in the squad but not ready 100% to play.
“Some players are still not ready to play 90 minutes, but they’re ready to be in the squad and ready to play.”
Time will tell just how much of a role they will play, but ultimately given that there have been signs of fatigue creeping into our performances in recent weeks, it’s hugely important we have fresh legs coming back to play an important part where needed.
Kamara will hopefully be able to start off the back of his return last weekend, as his composure, technical ability and defensive strengths will all be vital in a game like this in that midfield battle.
Further, an injection of energy on our right side with Cash would be a welcome boost too, and if Bailey and Coutinho can find some form, they could be important alternative options for Emery to use in the final third if we continue to struggle to show a clinical edge to our play and need a different dynamic to unlock Tottenham.