Aston Villa host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and Unai Emery has key decisions to make on his starting line-up for the clash.
Villa will look to put the disappointment of dropping points against Brighton last time out behind us, as we aim to start the New Year positively by securing three points in a game we’ll be highly fancied in by many.
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However, our performance level must undoubtedly improve if we are to avoid an upset, as we should have ended 2024 with a victory against Brighton, but once again our porous defence leaked goals, while we lacked the killer instinct to finish the game off while ahead.
Focus now switches to Leicester though, and Emery will be forced into changes due to injury and suspension, as the Villa boss confirmed that Pau Torres has been ruled out for two months after he suffered a broken metatarsal in our last outing.
Morgan Rogers joins Jhon Duran in being suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign, while Jaden Philogene and Diego Carlos also miss out due to injury.
Nevertheless, with other key individuals coming back, Villa will still be expected to put out a strong XI, and hopefully we’ll be able to not only secure a win, but keep a clean sheet in the process too as we look to make critical improvements at both ends of the pitch.
Mings-Konsa partnership restored, Cash returns
While Emiliano Martinez will continue between the posts, there will be a significant reshuffle in front of him as Matty Cash is likely to return from suspension to start at right-back, while Tyrone Mings will fill the void left behind by Torres and partner long-time teammate Ezri Konsa in the heart of the Villa defence once again.
Lucas Digne is likely to continue at left-back, although Ian Maatsen will be pushing for a start as he continues to be limited to a bit-part role so far this season.
With Rogers ruled out, we could potentially see Amadou Onana come in to partner Boubacar Kamara in the deeper midfield pivot, which in turn would free up Youri Tielemans to play in a more advanced role through the middle, as Leon Bailey and John McGinn will provide support from wide areas with Ollie Watkins continuing to lead the line.
Jacob Ramsey, Ross Barkley and Emiliano Buendia will all be pushing to feature too and so it remains to be seen if Emery prefers one of them as an option for this particular game, but it’s imperative that whoever gets the nod, that they play their part in a strong collective performance to ensure we seal all three points.
Villa have failed to keep a clean sheet in our last five games across all competitions, while we’ve conceded 10 in those outings. Further, we have the unwanted record of having the worst defence out of the top 11 sides in the Premier League table, and so with a return to a familiar backline that was so instrumental in getting us to this position, a clean sheet and solid defensive base will be critical this weekend in getting an important win at home.
Equally, we have to be clinical in front of goal when chances come our way as we’ve been punished for being wasteful too, and it’s hoped that if this is indeed the XI that starts the game, we play with a level of sharpness, confidence and ruthlessness that makes this a comfortable victory.
Agree with the Villa XI below, or would Ramsey, Barkley or others get in ahead?
