Aston Villa face Man City in the Premier League on Wednesday night, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up for the encounter looks.
After seeing off Wolves last weekend, Villa will be looking to secure another crucial result in our ongoing pursuit of Champions League qualification for next season.
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There was an injury blow last time out though as Ollie Watkins was replaced at half-time with a hamstring issue, and Emery has since confirmed both he and Jacob Ramsey are unavailable for this clash.
That in turn ensured that there would be at least one enforced change from the Villa boss, as we look to produce a shock against the reigning champions and complete a league double over them after a superb win in the reverse fixture in December.
Despite being blighted by injuries, our strength in depth has been vital this year, and as seen in the club’s tweet below, we’ve put out a strong line-up regardless of all of our key absentees.
Villa later confirmed that Emiliano Martinez misses out due to illness in a significant blow, with Robin Olsen stepping in to deputise for the Argentine international.
That makes it six changes to the side that defeated Wolves last Saturday, with Olsen, Lucas Digne, Clement Lenglet, Tim Iroegbunam, Nicolo Zaniolo and Jhon Duran coming in for Martinez, Alex Moreno, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans, Leon Bailey and Watkins.
It’s a Villa XI that seemingly has Bournemouth on Saturday in mind given the decision to rest so many key individuals, but it’s still a line-up that has the quality to compete and get a positive result at the Etihad.
Particularly for Iroegbunam, making his first Premier League start, it’s a big night and a major opportunity for him to showcase his quality and prove he’s able to step in when required, while both Zaniolo and Duran will be looking to leave their mark from the start after impressing off the bench.
It’s a surprise Villa line-up to an extent given the number of changes, but Emery is evidently thinking about the weekend and keen to give others a chance to prove their worth and stake their claim for a bigger role.
Representing Aston Villa tonight! 👊 pic.twitter.com/7sWKOR65yj
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 3, 2024