Aston Villa take on Southampton in the Premier League this weekend, and Unai Emery is expected to make multiple changes to his starting line-up.
Villa secured a crucial win in midweek against Brentford to end our eight-game winless streak across all competitions, but the challenge now is to follow that up and put a positive run together.
READ MORE: Potential Villa injury boost vs Southampton as Emery hints at changes
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Emery conceded that he wouldn’t know his starting XI until Saturday morning as he is monitoring a number of his players who are struggling with pain and fatigue, and so that was arguably a major hint that he intends on rotating significantly this weekend.
With a trip to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, there is no time to rest for Villa during this busy schedule, and so rotating and keeping everyone as fresh as possible will be pivotal.
Five changes, Maatsen, Barkley and Duran to come in…
There is a question mark over Emiliano Martinez as he played through pain during the week having sustained a finger injury, but he will undoubtedly want to play in every game and so it would be no surprise if he keeps his place in the line-up as opposed to Robin Olsen coming in to replace him.
However, there could be a new-look defence in front of him, with Ezri Konsa pushed to right-back, making way for Diego Carlos to take his place in the middle, while Pau Torres could come back in for Tyrone Mings. Ian Maatsen will likely give us fresh legs at left-back.
Much will depend on the players Emery was speaking about when he noted that there are doubts over a few in his squad though, but the possible backline above would make sense with Matty Cash and Tyrone Mings working their way back to full fitness after injury.
In midfield, Youri Tielemans has arguably looked a little sluggish at times in recent games, and having featured so heavily so far this season, this could be a good time to give him a rest with Ross Barkley taking his role as our creator and tempo-setter in the midfield pivot.
While Amadou Onana is closing in on a return from injury, Boubacar Kamara will likely continue in that defensive-minded role alongside Barkley, while Leon Bailey could keep his place as he continues to search for his best form on a consistent basis.
There could be a fresh trio around him though in the final third, as similarly to Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins have all started to show signs of tiredness having been so key through the early part of the season.
That in turn could open the door for Emiliano Buendia, Jaden Philogene and Jhon Duran to come in, but ultimately much is going to depend on the condition and fitness of our preferred options.
As we look to secure a safe passage into the knockout stage of the Champions League, Emery will want to put out a strong team in Leipzig, and so while changes are undoubtedly expected this weekend, time will tell just how many the Villa boss opts to make.
Agree with the Villa XI below or would you make alternative changes?
