Aston Villa travel to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday evening, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the clash.
In our pursuit of Champions League qualification, there is no more room for error as the expectation is that we’ll have to win our remaining three league games to be in contention to make the top five and hope results elsewhere go our way.
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In turn, that adds more pressure on a game that promises to be a difficult assignment given the quality Bournemouth possess in their ranks under Andoni Iraola, and so this is arguably our toughest remaining test with both Tottenham and Manchester United possibly distracted by their European commitments.
Having had good luck with injuries throughout most of the campaign, it had been hoped that it would continue in such a crunch period, but unfortunately that hasn’t proven to be the case as after losing Marcus Rashford to a hamstring injury, Youri Tielemans is also now sidelined after suffering a muscle issue.
With that in mind, Emery will be forced into at least one change this weekend, and it will be fascinating to see if he makes any further tweaks to hopefully get the better of Bournemouth and return home with all three points.
No Tielemans, Onana to start in Villa midfield?
Emiliano Martinez will continue between the posts, but there could be changes to our backline as Emery may go with options that give us a bit more solidity at the back as we’re certainly likely to be tested in that department.
While Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa should keep their respective spots, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne could come in to shore up the left side, replacing Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen.
Much will depend on Emery’s desire to either have more control and get on the front-foot or soak up pressure and hit on the counter-attack, but it could be the latter to start this game and so Mings’ presence in the box could be crucial, while Digne still arguably gets the nod ahead of Maatsen when it comes to the defensive phase.
With no Tielemans, Amadou Onana could partner Boubacar Kamara in our midfield pivot to add more steel, physical presence and defensive protection in front of the back-four, while Jacob Ramsey should be favoured over Marco Asensio for this one to join John McGinn and Morgan Rogers as our attacking trident behind Ollie Watkins.
Villa still have so many options and competition for places despite our injuries, with the likes of Leon Bailey, Asensio, Donyell Malen, Ross Barkley, Andres Garcia, Maatsen, Torres, and Axel Disasi pushing for a starting berth too, but at this stage of the season, it’s about the best Villa XI which gives us control and rhythm on the pitch to get the desired outcome.
It will remain a strong bench with individuals who can change the game if needed, and so especially in a tricky away game, Villa have to defend well, set a foundation and put ourselves in a position to pick up what could be a decisive win in our season.
Time will tell if this is the line-up Emery goes with, what changes would you make for the trip to Bournemouth?