Aston Villa travel to face Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting XI could look.
It was a difficult period for Villa last week after defeats to Crystal Palace and Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and Premier League respectively followed a draw with Bournemouth, and so ahead of the international break, the focus will be on getting back on track and building some confidence and momentum again.
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With three wins and three clean clean sheets in our opening three games of the Champions League, things have gone perfectly in Europe thus far, but Emery will ensure that there is no complacency setting in as we look to secure a direct passage into the knockout stage.
While we face another difficult trip on the road to Liverpool at the weekend, the main focus for now is on Club Brugge, and so although it is more likely that we’ll make changes for this encounter, it will still be a strong Villa starting line-up.
Doubts over Matty Cash, Diego Carlos comes in?
Emiliano Martinez will continue between the posts, but there could be an enforced change to his backline after Matty Cash limped off with a calf problem in our defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.
It hasn’t been officially confirmed as of yet if he faces a spell on the sidelines as a result, but with the expectation that he won’t risk aggravating the issue at the very least in midweek, he will likely drop out of the XI.
There is an argument in favour of going with a natural right-back to replace him with Kosta Nedeljkovic waiting in the wings for an extended run in the side, but the expectation is that Emery will likely go with an experienced option in Diego Carlos instead, which subsequently means Ezri Konsa could shift across to right-back.
Pau Torres and Lucas Digne should complete the backline, while Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans could continue in the midfield pivot.
John McGinn, Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins could all potentially keep their respective places as look to maintain consistency and familiarity in the side, but ultimately there is a strong case to be made that Emery might be eager to rotate for this clash and go with his strongest line-up at Anfield on Saturday night.
In turn, Ian Maatsen, Leon Bailey, Jaden Philogene, Boubacar Kamara and Jhon Duran will all certainly be in contention to start, and so it will be fascinating to see what Emery goes with in terms of what he believes is our best XI for this particular fixture and who matches up more effectively against a talented Club Brugge outfit.
What is certain is that he’ll want to get back to winning ways on Wednesday regardless of the personnel used, and it’s imperative that we produce a reaction after a heavy defeat last time out.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Club Brugge: Martinez; Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins.
Any changes to the Villa XI below? Will Emery rotate and save most of this side for the weekend?