Aston Villa midfielder Ross Barkley
Aston Villa midfielder Ross Barkley
Aston Villa have the chance to claim successive Premier League wins for the first time since September as Unai Emery's side host Southampton this afternoon.
Villa beat Brentford 3-1 on Wednesday night and can move into the top five with another victory. Opponents Southampton have lost 11 of their opening 14 league games this term and are rock bottom on five points.
They've lost their last three league games against Villa without scoring, but their total of 16 wins in 42 Premier League meetings is their joint-most against any side, along with Everton and Newcastle. They take Villa on having been thrashed 5-1 at home by Chelsea on Wednesday night.
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Emi Martinez played through the pain barrier against Brentford after suffering a hairline fracture to his finger in the 3-0 defeat at Chelsea last weekend. He should continue after coming through the midweek match.
Matty Cash scored his first league goal in 15 months in the win and is expected to continue at right-back, but Ian Maatsen may come into the side and replace Lucas Digne considering Villa play RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
Ezri Konsa will partner either Tyrone Mings or Pau Torres at centre-back. Mings was excellent against Brentford, but playing him just a few days after his first league start since August 2023 could be a risk considering he has just returned from a horrible long-term injury. He could then come back into the starting XI to face Leipzig, or if he continues in the side to face Southampton, then Torres could play from the off in Germany.
In midfield, Boubacar Kamara is expected to continue in the double pivot, but Ross Barkley may replace Youri Tielemans with the Champions League match coming up and the need to utilise the squad. The Belgian has played each of Villa's 19 Premier League and Champions League games so far this season.
Leon Bailey is growing in form and will likely play from the left and Morgan Rogers from the left as John McGinn supports Ollie Watkins in attack.
Aston Villa predicted XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau, Maatsen, Kamara, Barkley, Bailey, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.
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