With Matty Cash suspended for Aston Villa’s clash with Brighton on Monday night, Unai Emery faces an important selection decision in defence.
It’s a familiar conundrum for the Villa boss given Cash’s unavailability through injury over the past couple of seasons, and he has largely settled on a preferred solution that sees Ezri Konsa shift across to right-back.
READ MORE: Why return of influential Villa ace is so important as Emery set to be handed boost
As the Villa squad has evolved and been improved though, he has alternative options at his disposal ahead of Monday’s game, and it will be interesting to see which one the Basque coach goes with.
Naturally, the most likely one is Diego Carlos coming into the Villa starting line-up with Konsa at right-back, as it’s the tried and tested choice. That said, while it has worked exceptionally well at times, it also has glaring flaws, and so time will tell if Emery feels as though Brighton are well-equipped to exploit those vulnerabilities and opts against it.
Alternatively, Kosta Nedeljkovic was given 20 minutes off the bench in our defeat at Newcastle Utd, in what was a rare outing for the talented 19-year-old.
Could that have been Emery’s way of giving him a feel for first-team action with the idea that he will start against Brighton, knowing that Cash is not available?
That would seem like a more positive and long-term thinking approach as it would help us maintain a balance in our backline with Konsa continuing at centre-half alongside Pau Torres, with Nedeljkovic giving us energy, intensity and positive intent with his work at right-back.
Based on the fact that similar opportunities have already come and gone for him this season though, it doesn’t feel like Emery will start utilising that particular option now, and the same can be said of Lamare Bogarde, who was also deployed at right-back earlier this season to help us fill that void.
In turn, one other tweak that the Villa boss might consider is the inclusion of Tyrone Mings alongside both Torres and Konsa, which would subsequently mean a change in system and defensive structure.
Emery has often spoken about wanting to play the two left-footed centre-halves together, but has always conceded that it still needs work after Mings has been sidelined by injury for so long.
Could this be an ideal game to try it, or is it too risky? Mings was excellent in our win over Brentford earlier this month as he added real defensive solidity to our performance, and we certainly could have done with more of that at Nottingham Forest, only to be denied as he pulled out in the warm-up due to illness.
Nedeljkovic was an important signing in January and has a bright future ahead of him, but the only way he proves himself at Villa is by playing and showcasing his talent and ability to adapt to Emery’s demands.
If we continue to ignore that option and go with Carlos, who was heavily linked with an exit over the summer and will be a candidate to move on next year, it could ultimately end up with Nedeljkovic’s window coming and going, as we potentially consider signing another right-sided defender.
That would be a real shame, and so in the interests of the Serbian youngster’s career, our ability to have a better balance in defence and play key individuals in their more natural roles, it’s hoped that Emery has teed up Nedeljkovic for a big role on Monday night by getting him back in the mix last time out.
For many though, we’ll be expecting the usual Cash-less back-four to take to the pitch, and hopefully that delivers in an important win as we look to bounce back after our Boxing Day disappointment.
Who would you rather see come into the Villa XI to replace Cash, Diego Carlos, Mings or Nedeljkovic?
