Aston Villa face Brentford in the Premier League this weekend, and Unai Emery will be hoping for a double fitness boost from Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins.
Both missed out in midweek as we fell to a 4-1 defeat at Man City, with Watkins ruled out due to the hamstring injury he picked up in the win over Wolves, while Martinez was a late scratch from the starting line-up due to illness.
READ MORE: Emery faces key potential decision as Villa prepare to face Brentford
It was a disappointing loss at the Etihad as despite making several changes, Emery saw his side compete for an hour before the game eventually got away from us, and so it’s vital that we bounce back and solidify our position in fourth place with a win on Saturday afternoon.
Fifth spot may well be enough to secure Champions League qualification for next season, but Villa will no doubt be aiming to finish as high as possible, and so while the focus will be on Brentford and getting three points, it’s hoped results elsewhere go our way too with just seven games remaining.
Villa team news vs Brentford
There’s a significant boost in midfield with captain John McGinn returning from suspension, while the hope is that both Martinez and Watkins are passed fit enough to start.
Emery was coy when asked on Friday about their status, as although the influential duo will be included in the squad, it’s unclear at this stage if they will be available to start the game, or even come on unless desperately needed.
Unfortunately, there was more bad news on the injury front too, as the Villa boss confirmed that Jacob Ramsey’s season is over, as having already been limited to just 21 appearances across all competitions so far this campaign due to injury troubles, the 22-year-old’s won’t recover from a toe problem to feature again.
“Jacob Ramsey is again with some problems in his toe, he is not going to be available for the rest of the season,” Emery told the media, as per VillaTV. “Emi Martínez and Ollie Watkins could be (available) tomorrow, we will prepare for the match in the final 24 hours and tomorrow we will know if they’re available and ready to play.
“Emi and Ollie are included in the squad for tomorrow.”
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Brentford
While it remains to be seen if the illness is bad enough to prevent Martinez from returning, there’s a sense that he won’t let it keep him out for another game having had a few more days to recover.
In turn, we’ll hopefully have an important boost with the Argentine back between the posts, albeit Robin Olsen impressed in midweek despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise.
Ezri Konsa will continue to deputise at right-back, with Pau Torres and Alex Moreno potentially being recalled after getting a rest on Wednesday night, as Diego Carlos will keep his spot and complete the backline.
This could change depending on Emery’s preference and game-plan though, as Clement Lenglet and Lucas Digne will be in contention to start too.
As mentioned above, McGinn will come back into the midfield after serving his ban, and that will be a huge boost given how influential he is for us with and without the ball in that scrap in the middle of the pitch.
Leon Bailey should come back in after starting on the bench last time out, while with Ramsey out and Nicolo Zaniolo seemingly picking up a knock of his own against City, Morgan Rogers will likely keep his spot.
There’s a decision to be made on Douglas Luiz as he is one booking away from a two-match suspension, and so it will be interesting to see if Emery protects him, as if he goes without a caution in this game, it will reset for the final six games.
That in turn could see Youri Tielemans start alongside McGinn, but with Villa needing the three points, it seems more likely that Luiz will start, allowing his Belgian teammate to feature in a more advanced role, hopefully behind Watkins who will be itching to return to lead the Villa line.
Given our injury situation, there are a lot of question marks and doubts over how the Villa line-up will look on Saturday, but despite all of our absences, we’ve still got a strong group to select from as Emery eyes a vital win.