The mood at Aston Villa has quickly turned on its head after they were convincing winners over Brentford on Wednesday night.
It felt like a long time coming – eight games to be exact – but Villa finally returned to winning ways thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash.
Now, Unai Emery will want to build some momentum as he aims to get Aston Villa back into the top-four picture – currently four points behind the final Champions League spot.
A home match against Southampton, who were drubbed 5-1 by Chelsea in midweek, is a perfect chance to build up a head of steam during the hectic winter schedule.
Unsurprisingly, Paul Merson thinks Villa will beat the Saints this weekend, with some team news now emerging ahead of Saturday.
Amadou Onana of Aston Villa looks on during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield on November 09, 2024 in Liv...
Photo by Aston Villa/Getty Images
Aston Villa team and injury news vs Southampton
In the win over Brentford, Villa fans were perhaps surprised to see Emi Martinez between the sticks.
Martinez was expected to be out for two to four weeks after suffering an injury to his hand in the loss at Chelsea, although the problem wasn’t as bad as first thought.
Emery also issued an encouraging update on Amadou Onana before facing the Bees but the Belgian midfielder missed out on the squad after posting a message on Instagram.
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Onana has been injured since the international break and there’s hope the 23-year-old will return against Southampton.
The Spanish boss will address the media later on regarding the Belgian’s fitness, along with Jacob Ramsey, who last featured against Liverpool.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Southampton
Following a midweek match, Emery usually likes to make some changes to the starting lineup, despite looking back to their best.
It remains to be seen whether the Villa manager decides to rejig his side but he could be forced into one alteration.
Tyrone Mings was colossal against Brentford, producing an outstanding defensive performance, but that was his first Premier League start this term, and Emery said he was tired after the game.
Mings could keep his place in the back line and deservedly so, although resting the Englishman should see Pau Torres return.
Another change he could make is resting Lucas Digne, who was also magnificent in midweek, and replacing him with Ian Maatsen.
If Emery is to make a couple of tweaks, those are the two likely candidates, with the rest of the lineup from Brentford expected to remain untouched.
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