Aston Villa return to action in the Premier League this afternoon as they travel away from home to face Brighton in their final match before the World Cup break.
Unai Emery won his first game in charge of the club last weekend as he watched his side put Manchester United to the sword with a 3-1 win at Villa Park.
However, the Spanish coach then made a raft of changes for their trip to Old Trafford to play the Red Devils in the League Cup during the week, which led to a 4-2 defeat in Manchester.
The former Villarreal boss may now alter his side again in an attempt to head into the break off the back of successive victories in the top-flight.
How many alterations will he make to the XI from the defeat in the EFL Cup? Here is Football FanCast’s predicted XI…
Emi Martinez (C); Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey, Emi Buendia; Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey.
We are predicting that Emery will make six changes to his team, with Robin Olsen, Calum Chambers, Ashley Young, Ludwig Augustinsson, John McGinn, and Danny Ings all dropping out.
The cup clash with United represented a chance for the fringe players to prove to the manager that they deserve a place in the first XI but too many of them completely wasted their opportunity.
Olsen made a huge error leading to Bruno Fernandes’ goal as his wayward pass out from the back allowed the hosts to overload Villa in their own box, which seems unlikely to convince Emery that he should be dropping Martinez as his number one.
In midfield, Kamara could keep his place in the team, replacing Leander Dendoncker from the Premier League clash with United last week, as his early season form showed plenty of promise before he picked up an injury. He has averaged 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game, compared to the Belgian’s 2.7, and could provide a solid screen in front of the back four.
Emi Buendia, who was once dubbed “magical” by Racing Post’s Jack Reeve, could return in attacking midfield in place of McGinn – who failed to create a single chance against United.
The Argentine gem has created two ‘big chances’ in six league starts as he has proven that he has the ability to create quality chances for his teammates.
Ings could also be ditched up front for Leon Bailey to return after the Jamaican forward scored in the 3-1 win over Erik ten Hag’s side last weekend, whilst the Englishman failed to find the target in midweek.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/3eDcAkp
via IFTTT