Aston Villa host Cardiff City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Friday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
After our bitterly disappointing defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League earlier this week, Villa will be looking to produce a reaction as we hope to advance in the FA Cup and keep our hopes of winning silverware this season alive.
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That challenge was expected to be made harder given our potential absentee list as we’re continuing to deal with injury issues, with Emery suggesting that up to eight players could be missing for this Cup tie.
It had been hoped though that there would be positive news once the matchday squad was confirmed, and as per the club’s post below, the Villa boss makes four changes to the side that started earlier in the week with Ian Maatsen, Leon Bailey, Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford coming in to replace Axel Disasi, Lucas Digne, Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey.
There are two notable boosts in particular with Emiliano Martinez starting between the posts having recovered from the injury that forced him off at half-time at Palace, while Boubacar Kamara returns to the matchday squad after his recent layoff.
Despite being without those forced to miss out as they continue to recover from injury, it remains a strong Villa starting line-up with top options on the bench if needed, and it’s hoped that we can produce a solid performance and advance with minimal fuss.
That said, particularly after what happened at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night, a convincing win would certainly be a welcome sight to rebuild some confidence and momentum, while all concerned will be desperate to keep an elusive clean sheet and build on that as being a solid foundation in our win.
How we start tonight’s FA Cup fifth-round encounter 👊 #AVLCAR pic.twitter.com/DfnMDOkgBQ
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 28, 2025
