Aston Villa face Southampton in the Premier League this weekend, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look for the clash.
As we continue to compete across three fronts, the Villa boss has a difficult task to manage his squad in these decisive latter stages of the campaign, but he’s expected to make changes once again on Saturday.
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With the second leg of our Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain ahead, as well as coming off the back of a gruelling assignment in the French capital in midweek, there will be some tired legs in the squad, and that in turn will require changes to freshen things up.
What Villa simply can’t afford to do is slip up and damage our hopes of securing a top-five finish in the Premier League though, and so we’ll tap into our strength in depth and hope that those coming in can get the job done.
Eight potential changes as Emery rotates
Given we still have so much on the line in the league, Emiliano Martinez will likely continue between the posts, despite the possible temptation to rest him and give Robin Olsen a chance to deputise.
The Villa shot-stopper will have an important job in leading by example in this crunch ending to our season, and so it’s expected that he will play as much as possible unless he has a fitness concern.
In contrast, the backline ahead of him could be entirely changed once again as Andres Garcia, Axel Disasi, Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen could all feasibly come in and allow those who started in Paris earlier this week to have a chance to rest.
That is still a strong defensive unit and so it’s hoped that we can produce a solid performance at the back to lay the foundation for a win, and with Amadou Onana likely to get the nod in midfield, that will be additional protection.
It will be intriguing to see if Emery sticks with Youri Tielemans alongside him though, as although the Belgian international has been an almost ever-present this season, he is one of the few players who could be risking burn-out given how big a workload he has had. However, that must be balanced with the integral role and influence that he has for us, and with Ross Barkley only just coming back into the matchday squad against PSG last time out without getting any minutes, it’s difficult to see Emery handing him an immediate start this weekend.
Donyell Malen, Marco Asensio and Morgan Rogers could form our attacking trident, albeit John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Marcus Rashford might have something to say about that, but we could see Ollie Watkins restored to the Villa starting line-up to lead the line.
This certainly isn’t a case of fielding a weakened side as we have quality and experience in reserve who have shown their ability to come in and help us to win, but Emery must be careful that he gets the balance right and avoids complacency from creeping in as this, like every other game between now and the end of the season across all competitions, is a must-win encounter.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Southampton: Martinez; Garcia, Disasi, Mings, Maatsen; Onana, Tielemans; Malen, Asensio, Rogers, Watkins.
Agree with the potential Villa XI above, or would you make any changes?
