Unai Emery‘s Aston Villa side return to action in the Premier League in the lunchtime kick-off today as they attempt to avoid three straight defeats.
After losing to Leicester and Manchester City in their last two outings, the Villans host Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal, who will go top for a few hours at least if they avoid defeat in the Midlands today.
Both teams were beaten 3-1 by Pep Guardiola‘s men in their respective last matches in the top flight, and Emery will surely be hoping for a strong response from his players against an Arsenal team who have stuttered of late.
The Spanish head coach may alter his starting XI in an attempt to rejuvenate his team for this clash against his former club, and one player who should be unleashed from the start is Philippe Coutinho.
Will Philippe Coutinho start against Arsenal?
After his impressive cameo off the bench last time out, the £125k-p/w attacking midfielder must be named in the Villa starting XI to take on Arsenal this afternoon.
Against Manchester City, the 30-year-old came on as a substitute and recorded a Sofascore rating of 7.4 by completing two dribbles and winning four of his six individual duels, whilst also registering one shot on target.
Emi Buendia, who started that match, lost 100% of his battles and failed to produce a single shot in his 60 minutes on the pitch (as per Sofascore), and the Argentine gem should now be replaced by his Brazilian team-mate, who could get the best out of Ollie Watkins.
The Villa centre-forward has scored three goals in his last three appearances and has racked up four goals and one assist in seven league matches since the World Cup break.
Coutinho, who ex-Liverpool player Phil Thompson dubbed a “creative genius“, has not scored or set up a single goal in the Premier League this season in six starts, but his flash of quality against City suggests that the spark which he showed last term could be coming back to him.
At his best, the wizard has the quality to put opportunities on a plate for Watkins to continue his excellent streak in front of goal, and the pair could make for an exciting duo against the Gunners.
In 2021/22, the Brazil international averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.09 across 19 appearances and chipped in with five goals and three assists from midfield, whilst creating five ‘big chances’ and providing 1.3 key passes per game for his team-mates.
The ex-Barcelona gem, whose touch was once described as “magical” by journalist John Townley, has 184 career goals and assists combined at club level, along with 21 goals for his country, and is vastly experienced at being a difference-maker at the top level.
Emery must now unleash Coutinho alongside Watkins from the start against Arsenal today and hope that the Champions League winner can provide some moments of magic to tee up the England international to continue his hot streak.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/A3Wbf6K
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