Aston Villa host Manchester City on Saturday in the Premier League, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the encounter.
Our positive run of three consecutive wins came to an end last week after we surrendered our lead in the latter stages at Nottingham Forest, and so a reaction is expected, particularly after having a week’s rest to prepare.
READ MORE: Double Villa fitness boost vs Man City, key figure also making progress
Despite Pep Guardiola and City’s struggles this season, they still have the quality and experience in their squad to make this one of the most challenging games of the season, and so we must match the level that we produced in our win over the reigning Premier League champions last season.
There was good news on the fitness front from Emery in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, and so there will be an intriguing wait to see if he opts to make any changes to the side that ultimately fell short at the City Ground last time out.
Watkins to return to Villa XI, Cash to continue in advanced role?
While Emiliano Martinez will continue between the posts, there is a decision for Emery to make that could impact how his back-four looks.
Although Leon Bailey is back in the squad after injury, there have been positive signs playing Matty Cash in a more advanced role on the right side, and that in turn could allow the Villa boss to continue with a backline of Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne.
That’s the Villa defence that secured a clean sheet against City last season in this fixture, and perhaps with Bailey’s lack of playing time in recent weeks, that’s the way we’ll go.
With Boubacar Kamara getting back to his best, there’s no reason to disrupt his partnership with Youri Tielemans in our midfield pivot for this clash, with the likes of Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana perhaps being lined up to come in over the next fortnight when we look to rotate.
If Cash does indeed start on the right side of our attacking trident, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn will complete that trio, with Ollie Watkins likely to come back into the Villa starting line-up despite Jhon Duran’s impressive form.
Watkins gives us so much in both phases of the game with his work ethic, movement, positional and tactical awareness as well as his goal contributions, and although he is lacking a clinical edge to his play, he is still Emery’s first-choice frontman, with Duran capable of coming off the bench and making a critical impact if needed.
Time will tell if Emery has any surprises in mind, but it’s imperative that Villa put the disappointment of last week behind us by responding positively, and showing more of the encouraging signs over the past four games to suggest that we’re getting back on track and capable of putting together an important run to end the year.
Agree with the possible starting Villa XI below, or would you make any changes?
