Aston Villa travel to face Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Sunday, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the clash.
Villa begin the weekend in third place in the standings after securing four wins in our opening five games of the campaign, and so it’s hoped that we can continue that impressive run of form.
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With our Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night though, it remains to be seen if Emery rotates and perhaps makes more changes than expected, but having had the chance to rest key individuals in midweek in our Carabao Cup win over Wycombe Wanderers, the expectation is that he’ll go strong in this one and focus on one game at a time.
The Villa boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference that John McGinn is set to be sidelined for a further two or three weeks with his hamstring injury, while both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are expected to be available again after the upcoming international break. Matty Cash could be first to return, as he’s set to resume full training next week.
Two potential changes, but a right-back conundrum for Emery…
Emiliano Martinez will take his place between the posts again after a rest in midweek, while Lucas Digne, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa are expected to follow suit and return to our backline.
However, there is perhaps a question mark over who starts at right-back. After being named on the bench at Wycombe, Diego Carlos was withdrawn just before kick-off after suffering an injury in the warm-up, and so it remains to be seen firstly if he’s available for selection at all, and whether or not he’s recovered in time to make it back-to-back league starts.
It seems that there could be a change given the degree of doubt and he may well be rested until the Bayern game, but will it be Lamare Bogarde or Kosta Nedeljokvic who gets the nod? The latter put in a positive shift in midweek, and so it’s hoped that he just manages to edge it. That said, away from home and with Bogarde’s defensive stability, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the talented young Dutchman gets the start.
In midfield, Amadou Onana will be rejoined by Youri Tielemans after he sat out at Adams Park, while Leon Bailey will likely continue on the right wing, with McGinn now ruled out with his injury.
Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey will compete the attacking trident behind Ollie Watkins, who is expected to take his starting berth back despite Jhon Duran’s ongoing positive form to start the season.
In turn, it’s a familiar looking Villa XI with a couple of tweaks, but it will be interesting to see if Emery goes with Bogarde or Nedeljkovic to answer perhaps the biggest question mark heading into the game at Portman Road, or if Carlos is indeed available and keeps his place.
It promises to be a difficult challenge with the hosts desperate for points as they go in search for their first win of the season, and so while Emery has already made a point of his side not being distracted by what’s to come next week, Villa will have to be at our best to come away with three points this weekend.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Ipswich: Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Pau, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins.
Any changes to the Villa XI below?
