Aston Villa face Everton in the Premier League on Wednesday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Villa arrive on Merseyside looking for a third consecutive win across all competitions, after seeing off Leicester City and West Ham in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively in our last two outings.
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While a trip to Goodison Park is always a difficult proposition, it’s made even trickier this week after the Toffees confirmed the return of David Moyes, having opted to sack Sean Dyche.
In turn, it promises to be a challenging atmosphere as Villa look to not only match Everton in terms of energy and intensity, but we must produce quality to make the difference between the two sides and return home with a positive result.
Changes were expected to the side that started the win over West Ham, and as per the club’s post below, Emery has indeed opted to make tweaks to his starting line-up as he makes four changes, with Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne, Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey coming in for Robin Olsen, Ian Maatsen, Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey.
There is also an important boost on the bench as Jhon Duran returns from suspension, and the Colombian striker may well have an important role to play as we look to secure all three points.
It will be interesting to see how we line up though, as with no Bailey in the side, it remains to be seen who takes up the role on the right side, with the expectation that it will be Morgan Rogers, as Youri Tielemans is better suited to a central role, while Ramsey is most effective on the left flank.
Nevertheless, it’s a balanced Villa XI with a solid base and creativity and pace in the final third, and hopefully we’re able to produce a solid performance and pick up a positive result to continue building momentum.
Martinez recovering from a minor injury is a major boost, and although Maatsen arguably deserved to keep his spot after his display last time out, it’s a settled and familiar backline, with a strong shield in front of them, and so it’s hoped that a clean sheet paves the way for Villa to not only get the desired outcome, but to produce a controlled and dominant performance.
Your Villa starting XI tonight 👊 #EVEAVL pic.twitter.com/TetICtuz77
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 15, 2025
