Aston Villa face another difficult away trip at Leicester City in midweek, as we look to continue our fine recent form in the Premier League at the King Power Stadium.
Our 2-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday was our fourth victory in our last five games with the other encounter ending in a draw, while we’ve scored nine goals in that run and conceded just one.
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Having rediscovered our defensive solidity and continued to show quality in our attacking play to create chances and be clinical enough to have scored in every league game so far under Emery, Villa have found a fundamental, winning balance to spark this run of form.
It won’t be easy against Leicester though, not only given their desperation for points to get out of the relegation zone, but also after the decision to sack Brendan Rodgers, which will no doubt get a reaction out of their players.
With that in mind, Villa need to be at our best, and while there were plenty of positives from the Chelsea game, we didn’t show the same level of control and management as we saw in wins over Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Everton prior to that, and Emery will undoubtedly want to see that aspect of the performance improve again.
Villa should go unchanged, but one question mark
Given the balance in the side mentioned above and the fact that we’re in such good form and ultimately winning games, Emery would ideally want to go unchanged and stick with the same players who continue to impress.
There is perhaps one question mark heading into Tuesday’s game though, and that’s if Ashley Young can produce his best in two games over just four days?
The 37-year-old joked on Twitter that he needed help off the pitch on Saturday and was ready for his ice bath, but there’s no doubt that he maintains a superb level of fitness at his age and continues to be a reliable and solid option for Emery when needed.
Nevertheless, the Villa boss will surely monitor his condition in the lead up to the trip to Leicester and make a decision on who starts at right-back, with Calum Chambers perhaps the other available option.
It’s hoped that Young is good to go and ultimately the expectation is that he will be, but it’s an important decision that could be considered.
Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Alex Moreno will surely keep their places barring any unknown knocks they picked up at the weekend as we stick with a familiar and effective backline, while John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey will all hope to continue to build on their impressive form.
After returning from injury on Saturday, Boubacar Kamara did look a little off the pace and lacking fitness before he was replaced at half-time, but having had that chance to improve his conditioning, he’ll hope to get the nod again here and get back to his best as soon as possible.
Albeit a little quiet, Emiliano Buendia surely remains the best option to support Ollie Watkins – especially away from home with his defensive work ethic too – while the Villa frontman will no doubt continue to lead the line for Villa as he looks to extend his brilliant goalscoring form since Emery’s appointment.
With talk of European hopes building, it’s vital we follow up the win over Chelsea with another this week, and continue to build momentum and improve on the excellent work that has been done thus far.
