Aston Villa host Brentford in the Premier League in midweek, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the encounter.
It’s a crucial game for Villa as we look to bring an end to a bitterly disappointing eight-game winless run across all competitions, and with Southampton to follow at the weekend, it has to be seen as a real chance to string together some much-needed wins.
READ MORE: Villa hopeful of crucial injury boost vs Brentford, update on key duo
That said, it certainly won’t be a straight-forward task as Brentford are a top side with quality in their ranks, and so we must produce a much-improved performance in midweek to secure all three points.
It will start with Emery’s selection decisions though, as with such a busy schedule, it remains to be seen if he opts to make changes and freshen things up in his starting XI, or if he sticks with the same group to get us out of our slump.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, the Villa boss confirmed that both Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey remain sidelined as they recover from injury, while a late decision will be made on Emiliano Martinez after he sustained a finger injury in our defeat at Chelsea this past weekend.
Martinez doubt, Maatsen and Bailey to start?
As noted above, it’s unclear if Martinez will be passed fit or if Villa opt not to risk him and give him more time to heal, and so if the latter proves to be the case, Robin Olsen could come into the starting XI.
A strong argument should be made in favour of Joe Gauci getting the nod given he’s the longer-term solution as back-up between the posts, but ultimately Emery trusts Olsen and will likely pick the experienced stalwart instead.
There could be one change in defence if we opt to rotate and get some fresh legs into the side, with Ian Maatsen a strong candidate to come in for Lucas Digne at left-back.
Barring that change, it would seem sensible to stick with Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres to complete the backline, as making too many changes runs the risk of further disrupting the balance and chemistry in our defence.
With no Onana, Boubacar Kamara should partner Youri Tielemans in our midfield pivot, albeit Ross Barkley will be under consideration to start too, while Leon Bailey should replace Jaden Philogene after the latter really struggled against Chelsea.
John McGinn and Morgan Rogers should complete the attacking trident behind Ollie Watkins, but again, with the Villa frontman out of form and lacking confidence in front of goal, could it be a chance for Jhon Duran to start instead and give us a different dynamic in leading the line?
Those are key decisions Emery will have to make to give us the best possible chance of winning, with Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings and perhaps Emiliano Buendia in the conversation to start too.
Agree with the touted Villa starting line-up below, or would you make any changes?