Aston Villa host Manchester City on Wednesday night, and Unai Emery has key decisions to make when it comes to his starting line-up.
Villa were far from our best on Sunday at Bournemouth, but thanks in large part to Emiliano Martinez’s brilliance and a superb finish from Ollie Watkins, we were able to come away with a point and keep our unbeaten run going.
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There’s a tough week ahead though as after City visit us, Arsenal follow on Saturday, and so it’s a real test of our credentials to continue to compete at the top end of the Premier League table.
Given the nature of the schedule too, it’s important that Emery finds the right balance and keeps the squad fit and healthy, and so we are expected to make changes for this one.
Kamara returns from suspension, three more changes?
Martinez will of course continue between the posts, but there could be a change in the defence with Matty Cash coming back in to replace Diego Carlos.
That in turn will see Ezri Konsa shift back across into a centre-half position alongside Pau Torres, with Lucas Digne continuing at left-back. Alex Moreno is certainly pushing for a start now though, and so it remains to be seen if he’s ready to come back in for this one.
There could be two further changes in midfield, one of which is a certainty as Boubacar Kamara returns from his suspension and will likely replace Youri Tielemans and restore his fundamental partnership with Douglas Luiz in the middle.
John McGinn could switch back to the right side where he has arguably more effective and consistent under Emery, and that could also mean that Jacob Ramsey gets the nod in the starting XI having featured off the bench in our last three games, getting 45 minutes last time out.
With Nicolo Zaniolo continuing to struggle to find form, Moussa Diaby will surely replace him and provide support for Ollie Watkins in the final third, with our frontman hopefully fully recovered from the issue that saw Emery initially doubt if he could feature against Bournemouth.
It’s certainly a strong line-up, even with the potential of one or two changes, and coupled with key absences for Man City with Rodri and Jack Grealish suspended while Jeremy Doku is an injury doubt, it’s hoped that we can keep our superb home form going with a statement win.
