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'Common sense' - King expects that Emery will rest key Aston Villa players v Southampton

Aston Villa Emery

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery

Villa News Speaking to Bryan King

Sat 7 December 2024 12:10, UK

Bryan King has speculated that Unai Emery could rotate some of his more important Aston Villa players against Southampton on Saturday.

The ex-Villa scout thinks it would be “common sense” for the 53-year-old to make changes for the Premier League clash at Villa Park on 7 December, with one first-team regular expected to be dropped.

Emery’s side got back to winning ways on Wednesday [4 December], beating Brentford 3-1 in the Premier League at Villa Park, with one player wowing Ben Foster after his “phenomenal” contribution.

Villa are in the middle of a busy run, with a trip to the Red Bull Arena to take on RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday [10 December] to follow their clash with the Saints.

Therefore, King – speaking exclusively to Villa News – thinks it is important that the squad is managed well.

“I think any team that is playing in two major competitions needs to rotate,” King said.

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“Aston Villa are in a totally new era. They’re playing in the Champions League, a competition in which you need to name your best team if you want to compete because you’re playing against top-quality teams.

“Therefore, if that means rotating your team for matches like this, then Emery needs to do that. It would be common sense for him to rest some important players against Southampton.

“However, he will still expect the response from the players he names to be a positive one. There are several options for Emery in his squad.”

Unai Emery to make changes for Aston Villa v Southampton?

On paper, a home match against the team bottom of the Premier League is Villa’s easiest fixture of the month. Of course, things are never quite that straightforward in the Premier League.

However, this still feels like the perfect opportunity for Emery to rotate and give some other players in his squad a chance to prove their worth, while the demands on his squad only further emphasise the need for the club to act in January.

Aston Villa Unai Emery

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery

Villa’s match with RB Leipzig will be their third in the space of a week. Therefore, if Emery wants to avoid any further injury issues, he might have no choice but to rest some of his big-name players.

In other Aston Villa news, the club could strike a loan agreement with Juventus as transfer news emerges.

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