Aston Villa Juventus
Aston Villa face Juventus in the Champions League
Aston Villa have made three changes to their lineup for their game against Juventus in the Champions League.
The Villans confirmed their starting eleven on X [27 November], and Matty Cash, Lucas Digne and Boubacar Kamara have come in to replace Lemare Bogarde, Ian Maatsen and Ross Barkley.
Bogarde was a surprise inclusion in the fixture against Crystal Palace on 23 November in the Premier League as the Lions dropped points in the 2-2 draw.
Konsa missed the match with Oliver Glasner’s team due to an injury but has returned to fitness as Juventus visits Villa Park, which makes Cash’s inclusion an awful call by the Spanish manager.
After a promising start to the season, Unai Emery has struggled at Villa lately, who are winless in their last six fixtures in all competitions, losing to Club Brugge in the Champions League during that period.
Ezri Konsa important for Aston Villa
It’s not surprising to see the Lions not being at their best recently, considering the number of changes that are being made to the team due to fitness issues.
Emery’s squad isn’t only affected by injuries but also by how many games they have to play this term.
Konsa’s absence was a big blow against Palace, with the Englishman one of the best defenders in the league, winning 83 per cent of his duels in the English top flight in the current campaign, as per FotMob.
The 27-year-old has also been outstanding on the ball for Villa, making four successful dribbles, winning 14 fouls and having been dispossessed zero times.
With a passing accuracy of 92.4 per cent, Emery has been able to count on Konsa, who also has an xA of 0.33 in the Premier League this season, which is decent for a defender.
Aston Villa confirmed XI v Juventus.
What’s also commendable about the England international is his discipline, having received no cards this term in the English top flight yet.
Juventus are a challenging outfit for the Villans, but the Lions have enough quality in their team to get the better of the Old Lady and one would expect Konsa to enter the field at some point..
In other Aston Villa news, a legend of the Birmingham outfit could be the replacement for Emery after latest developments.
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