Aston Villa face a trip to Old Trafford to take on Man Utd on Boxing Day, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the encounter.
There was disappointment last week after our draw at home against Sheffield Utd, but 18 games into the Premier League season, we sit in joint-second place, and so there is certainly still much to be pleased with.
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That said, with Emery’s ambition and high demands, we’ll face Man Utd looking to bounce back from that frustration and pick up another big win on the road, and despite the troubles and poor form of Erik ten Hag’s side, they remain a tough assignment with the experience and quality in their squad.
The Villa boss provided his last team news update after our draw on Friday night as he’s had the weekend away from the media for Christmas, and here’s what he said as we await for a crucial update on the availability of Pau Torres, while he confirmed a couple of absentees due to suspension.
Lenglet to deputise again, Diego Carlos back in?
Barring any late concerns, Emiliano Martinez will start as expected, but with Matty Cash serving a suspension, that could see Diego Carlos return to the Villa XI, which would shift Ezri Konsa over to fill in at right-back.
Given the quality and influence he provides, it’s hoped that Torres can be passed fit, but based on Emery’s assessment above a few days ago, it doesn’t sound too promising in terms of coming straight back into the side, nor is it worth the risk if he might aggravate the problem.
In turn, the likelihood is that we see Clement Lenglet continue in that position, with Lucas Digne hoping to fend off competition from Alex Moreno to keep his place at left-back.
We’ll no doubt see more rotation in that position moving forward now that the Spaniard is back fit and featuring regularly, but given what he adds in both phases of the game, it would be no surprise if he manages to displace his teammate for this one.
John McGinn could partner Douglas Luiz in the heart of the Villa midfield again with Boubacar Kamara still out suspended, while Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey could provide us with pace, energy and an attacking threat out wide as we’ll hopefully hurt Man Utd with quick counter-attacks and swift, intricate passes through the lines.
There’s hopefully no surprises up top with Ollie Watkins set to lead the Villa line as usual, and although he’s struggling for consistency in his form, Moussa Diaby will hope he gets another shot to impress in this one, as he could have more space in a counter-attacking approach to exploit and showcase his class.
Nicolo Zaniolo will be itching to get a starting berth as he’s starting to find his goalscoring touch while Youri Tielemans remains out, but we’ll soon see which options Emery prefers as he plots a game-plan to try and return home with all three points.