Aston Villa face Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the showdown.
It promises to be a memorable night at Villa Park this week as we welcome the Bundesliga giants for our first home game since returning to Europe’s top table, and it’s fitting that it’s a reunion after the 1982 European Cup Final in Rotterdam.
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While that has been an enjoyable aspect of the build-up, Emery and the players will be fully focused on writing new history for the club, and given the quality of our opponents, it promises to be a big challenge for us to overcome.
John McGinn has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury, while it was confirmed in the pre-match press conference that Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara all remain sidelined.
Unchanged Villa amid question mark over right-back set-up…
Ultimately, it’s expected that Villa will go with an unchanged starting line-up from the weekend, as it would arguably be quite the risk to make changes for such a big game and risk disrupting our consistency and rhythm.
That in turn will see Emiliano Martinez continue between the posts, while Ezri Konsa will start at right-back as Diego Carlos, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne complete the backline.
Emery conceded that we haven’t been defending well enough for some time now and it’s an issue that must be rectified. It’s questionable then as to whether keeping Konsa at right-back and continuing with Carlos is the best solution based on what we’ve seen over the last two games, but given their experience, it seems like the most sensible choice for this particular clash.
Neither Kosta Nedeljkovic nor Lamare Bogarde have played enough in the lead up to this game to suggest that they’ll get the nod, and so it’s hoped that we learn from our mistakes and put in a solid defensive shift with the same back four if that is indeed the option we go with.
Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans are likely to continue in midfield as they’ll be tasked with giving us control and a foothold in the heart of the battle, while Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey are expected to continue to provide support behind Ollie Watkins in the final third.
As has been the case all season so far, Villa will benefit from having a strong bench, which will give Emery alternative tactical solutions if required, but it’s hoped that this Villa XI can start strong, put us in a good position in the game to try and secure maximum points again after our opening matchday win over Young Boys.
We certainly have the quality to hurt Bayern given the attacking threat we pose, but it may well come down to which side is better defensively and which individuals can step up and produce something special to mark such a big occasion.
While the next international break is rapidly approaching, time will tell if Emery opts to rotate and give others an opportunity against Manchester United this weekend, but for now, the full focus is on Bayern, and that could see us go with our strongest line-up so far this season if everyone is fit and available.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Bayern: Martinez, Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins.
Any changes to the Villa XI below?
