Aston Villa host Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday evening, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up for the encounter could look.
With just nine games remaining in the campaign, Villa will be desperate to put three more points on the board this weekend to take another step towards Champions League qualification.
READ MORE: Villa team news vs Wolves: Positive update on key ace, but injury blow confirmed
While we start this round of fixtures in fourth place, Tottenham and Man Utd sit three and nine points adrift respectively, but both do have a game in hand on us to try and cut the gap.
After that bitterly disappointing result against Spurs, Villa bounced back with a draw at West Ham Utd prior to the international break, and although our recent record against Wolves doesn’t make for particularly enjoyable reading, it’s hoped that we can get the better of them on this occasion.
Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne to start?
Emery confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Friday that Matty Cash picked up an injury while on international duty and is set to be sidelined for two to three weeks as a result.
In turn, the expectation is that Ezri Konsa will continue at right-back in this game, but with Diego Carlos having had the break to build his fitness and sharpness after recovering from his own injury blow, it would come as little surprise if the Brazilian centre-half started alongside Pau Torres in the middle.
That would mean Clement Lenglet dropping to the bench, while Lucas Digne will be hopeful of getting the nod ahead of Alex Moreno for this one. However, with the onus on us at home to set the tempo and create chances, the Spaniard could be favoured by Emery given his attacking influence.
John McGinn is still suspended, and so there’s another important decision for the Villa boss as to whether he sticks with the combination of Douglas Luiz and Youri Tielemans in the heart of our midfield.
While they give us technical quality and control with their ability on the ball, is there enough physicality and tenacity to match what the likes of Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina will bring to the contest? It’s a big call given his lack of experience and minutes to fully integrate, but could we see Tim Iroegbunam get a chance?
We’re at home, expected to dictate and dominate possession and will be confident of a win even though this will be a highly charged and evenly-contested clash against a good side. However, it could be the ideal opportunity for Iroegbunam to step in and give us an all-important balance to ensure we have enough defensive awareness and presence to nullify the counter-attack threat from the visitors.
If not, Emery may well feel as though the Luiz-Tielemans partnership works well enough, and so it could be the same midfield quartet that secured a share of the spoils at West Ham.
In contrast, it’s highly unlikely we’ll go with two up top again, and so while Ollie Watkins will of course keep his spot, Jhon Duran will surely drop out, with either Tielemans pushed up into a more advanced role if Iroegbunam starts, or Moussa Diaby could get a chance in the starting XI again after his important contribution last time out.
The Belgian international excelled in that position over the break with a brace against England, and so he’ll hopefully get a chance to replicate that this weekend.
There was positive news from Emery on Friday afternoon with the update that Jacob Ramsey is closing in on a return, but after his stint on the sidelines, even if he does make the matchday squad, he’ll likely take a spot on the bench for this one.