Aston Villa are set to face Bristol Rovers in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Friday, with Unai Emery expected to pick a strong side consisting of those who haven’t travelled for international duty.
Emiliano Buendia, Emiliano Martinez, Jhon Duran, John McGinn, Bertrand Traore, Robin Olsen, Matty Cash, Viljami Sinisalo, Leon Bailey, Jacob Ramsey, Jayden Barber, Josh Feeney and Oliwier Zych have all been called up to represent their respective countries, and so they will not feature this week.
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In turn, that leaves Emery with a weakened squad over the break, but he still has plenty of quality at his disposal as he looks to ensure the players available maintain their match fitness and continue to implement his ideas, with BirminghamLive reporting on the scheduling of this week’s friendly.
There has been no official update from the club on Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara and Leander Dendoncker who have all been sidelined by injury in recent weeks, and so it remains to be seen if they’ve recovered in time to feature at all or perhaps make the bench.
Neither Coutinho nor Kamara appeared in the latest images released from training on Wednesday, and so it would seem as though it’s unlikely we’ll see them in action on Friday, with long-term absentee Jed Steer also set to miss out. However, Dendoncker was briefly spotted in a video released by Villa from training, albeit it was unclear if he was working with the rest of the group.
Diego Carlos returns, youngsters get chance
With no senior goalkeepers available and Zych away too, Emery will have to look at his options at U18s level with James Wright being touted as a potential option between the posts for this encounter.
Ashley Young could start at right-back, with either Tyrone Mings or Ezri Konsa getting the nod in the middle and Lucas Digne starting at left-back.
The main talking point for this game though will be the expected return of Diego Carlos to the Villa XI, with the Brazilian centre-half having been sidelined since last August after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Given his lack of football in recent months, the expectation is that his minutes will be managed carefully if he does start, and so Konsa and Mings are both likely to feature at some point.
With options limited and Digne potentially starting in defence, Alex Moreno could be deployed in a more advanced role on the left flank as he looks to continue to show his quality in the final third, while Calum Chambers and Dendoncker could be the pairing in the centre, depending on the latter’s availability.
Emery will arguably prefer the Belgian international to others in order to improve his fitness, but time will tell if the hand injury that has kept him out for the last three games rules him out of this one too.
There are various options available from the U21s and it’s hoped that some do get an opportunity to impress Emery, but going on history and our friendlies during the World Cup last year, Arjan Raikhy and Kadan Young are perhaps best placed to be involved.
Ollie Watkins could lead the line as he looks to stay sharp in front of goal given his impressive recent form, and the duo of Villa youngsters noted above could complete the starting line-up.
Similarly to Dendoncker, it’s hoped that Coutinho and Kamara are recovering well and potentially make a surprise appearance, but for now, all eyes will be on Carlos as it’s hoped that any post-match analysis is positive and that he comes through unscathed after his long-awaited return to the pitch.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Bristol Rovers: Wright, A. Young, Diego Carlos, Mings, Digne, Raikhy, Dendoncker, Chambers, Alex Moreno, Watkins, K Young.
