Aston Villa face Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter at Craven Cottage.
With the international break giving us a chance to regroup and recover some key injured players, Villa now face both a hectic and challenging fortnight with big games across multiple competitions.
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It starts in west London this weekend against a Fulham side who will pose a real threat having made a positive start to the campaign, and so Villa must be at our best if we’re to return home with something to show for our efforts.
After delivering positive news in his pre-match press conference on Friday in terms of team news, Emery had decisions to make regarding his starting XI, while it was hoped that both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara could make their respective returns to the matchday squad after lengthy injury layoffs.
As per the club’s post below, we’ve made three changes to the side that faced Manchester United prior to the break, with Diego Carlos, Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey all starting in place of Ezri Konsa, Ross Barkley and Jaden Philogene.
There’s brilliant news on the bench as Kamara is back in the squad for the first time since he suffered his injury in February, while Konsa, John McGinn and Philogene join him in reserve as we continue to see the group get stronger as players come back from setbacks.
In turn, it’s Emiliano Martinez in goal, with a back-four consisting of Matty Cash, Carlos, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne in front of him.
Onana rejoins Youri Tielemans in the midfield pivot, while Ramsey will link up with Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins in the final third as we look to put on a clinical performance and secure all three points against Fulham.
Mings travelled with the group as he closes in on a return of his own, but it’s been decided that he’s not quite ready yet to feature, but we’ll hopefully see him involved in the coming weeks as Villa move ever closer to having a full strength squad to select from.
For now though, it’s such a boost to see so many key individuals back in the mix, as although Emery will have everyone focused on this game, he’ll have to assess his options when we face Bologna in the Champions League in a few days time too.
Your Aston Villa starting XI this afternoon 🟣#FULAVL || #UpTheVilla pic.twitter.com/SGZIvhpsFI
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 19, 2024
