Aston Villa face Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday night, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look at the Etihad.
With just eight league games remaining this season, Villa head into this encounter in fourth place, albeit things could change by kick-off depending on Tottenham’s result at West Ham Utd on Tuesday, as they look to close the three-point gap.
READ MORE: Villa team news vs Man City: Watkins, Jacob Ramsey updates
Our focus will be on Man City and getting a positive result though, and with that would subsequently come another important step towards qualifying for the Champions League next season.
Villa team news vs Man City
Emery delivered his team news on Tuesday afternoon, and confirmed that Ollie Watkins has been ruled out due to the hamstring injury he sustained in the win over Wolves last weekend, while Jacob Ramsey remains sidelined.
John McGinn will serve the final game of his suspension, while Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Buendia all remain unavailable due to injury.
“They (Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins) will not be available for tomorrow,” Emery told the media at his pre-match press conference, as per VillaTV. “They have small injuries. Jacob Ramsey is not getting better like he wants and we are not in a hurry with him, and for tomorrow he is not available.
“With Ollie, it’s more or less the same but I think it’s a small injury. We are going to wait because with some days he could be available for the next match.”
With three games in seven days, the expectation is that the Villa boss will rotate and make changes to his starting line-up in midweek, but there won’t be too many as he looks to keep our momentum going and consistency intact.
Possible Villa XI vs Man City
In turn, Emiliano Martinez will start between the posts, while Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos and Pau Torres should all start in the backline. There could be one change in that department though, with Lucas Digne pushing to regain his starting spot, and that could mean Alex Moreno dropping to the bench for a rest amid his struggle to hit top form.
It’s potentially a similar story in midfield as we are limited in what we can do given our lengthy absentee list, and so Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans and Douglas Luiz are all expected to keep their respective places in the Villa XI.
However, having praised him publicly since our win over Wolves, there is a sense that Emery is ready to bring Nicolo Zaniolo back into the starting line-up, and so he could replace Morgan Rogers on that left side, with the Villa boss praising both the Italian international and Digne after the weekend for their impact in both phases of the game.
Moussa Diaby is in fine form currently and so it would come as a surprise if he were to drop out for this one, but with Watkins ruled out with that hamstring injury, it could open the door for Jhon Duran to make a rare start.
It’s been a lengthy adaptation process for the Colombian forward, and injuries haven’t helped either. However, he’s shown promising signs and the right attitude when coming on in games recently to try and impact it in a positive way, and this is now a huge chance for him to lead the Villa line and showcase his ability.
Naturally, there will be a drop off given how influential and impactful Watkins has been all season for us in that role, but it’s hoped that Duran can make a nuisance of himself at the very least, as although he’ll be desperate to play a decisive role, it’s crucial that he gives us a focal point up top in a game where we’ll likely struggle at times to gain a foothold.
We’ve had terrible luck with injuries this season, but Emery is still able to put out a strong Villa line-up, as seen below, and hopefully it will be enough to return home with a positive result.