Aston Villa host Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, and Douglas Luiz’s suspension risk poses a big decision for Unai Emery.
The 25-year-old picked up his ninth booking of the season in our 4-1 defeat to Man City in midweek, and so he is now just one more caution away from a two-match suspension, as per the Premier League rules.
READ MORE: Villa duo build Emery trust with performances despite defeat
In turn, should the Brazilian international be booked this weekend, he would miss our trip to Arsenal and Bournemouth’s visit to Villa Park in the following fortnight, which would be a significant blow given both his influence in our midfield and what’s at stake between now and the end of the campaign.
Importantly, it resets after the 32nd game of the Premier League season, and so if Luiz were to avoid another yellow card on Saturday, he would then be free of that concern for the remainder of the year.
So, it does present Emery with an important decision as to whether or not he takes the risk with Luiz and plays him this weekend, or with John McGinn returning from a suspension of his own coupled with Youri Tielemans being rested on Wednesday night until coming off the bench, could we see a reshuffle in our midfield?
Ultimately, it will come down to what Villa starting line-up that Emery feels gives us the best chance of winning the game. It’s arguably counter-productive to think we can protect Luiz for the next two games by not playing him this weekend, only to then slip up against Brentford in a game we certainly believe we can claim all three points from and put more pressure on ourselves.
That said, a midfield partnership of McGinn and Tielemans isn’t exactly a weak one, and that pairing still gives us a good balance with their combined tenacity, energy and technical ability. Further, who’s to say Emery doesn’t back Tim Iroegbunam and he keeps his place after his outing against Man City on Wednesday night.
With 10 goals and 10 assists in 44 appearances so far this season, coupled with the influence he has on our general play in both phases of the game, Luiz has established himself as a pillar of this Villa side.
We’ll absolutely feel his absence against Arsenal and Bournemouth if he were to be booked this weekend, but given what three points this weekend does for us, combined with the trust Emery will likely have in him to not do anything silly this weekend to earn a caution, will we see the Luiz-McGinn partnership restored in a crucial boost for us on Saturday?
Tough call maybe leave him out at the start and see how it goes, bring him on if needed. Can’t see any other way