Predicting Unai Emery’s Aston Villa lineup to take on Brentford in the Carabao Cup.
Aston Villa get their Carabao Cup campaign underway with a third round tie away at Brentford on Tuesday night.
The Villans return to the Gtech Community Stadium merely three weeks after their last visit. Unai Emery and his men will be eager to get revenge for what happened last time against the Bees as the Londoners ran out narrow 1-0 victors in August.
The Premier League remains the priority but Emery will be determined to progress in the cup to maintain the maximum number of routes to a trophy. There’s also an added motivation this midweek and that’s to put an abrupt end to the terrible start to the new season.
After the 0-0 draw with Everton on Saturday, Emery hinted there would be starts for new signings and some fringe players. That said, the Spaniard respects the Carabao Cup and will still want to give his team a good chance of winning.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Brentford
With all of that in mind, here’s the starting XI we reckon Emery will name against the Bees.
GK - Marco Bizot: After losing his place to Emi Martinez in the league, Bizot will be keen to start in the cups. Emery used to give the nod to Robin Olsen in this competition, so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t do the same for Bizot.
RB - Matty Cash: In an ideal world, Andres Garcia would get his first run out of the season but that’s highly unlikely as the Spaniard has spent the past few weeks recovering from an injury.
CB - Victor Lindelof: The Swede could make his first start in a more familiar position after making his debut in an auxiliary central midfield role. Lindelof can be a handy option to use for rotational purposes.
CB - Pau Torres: Behind Tyrone Mings in the pecking order at current, Pau will be eager to impress and change Emery’s mind. Keeping Mings fresh for the trip to Sunderland will probably be the priority.
LB - Ian Maatsen: The former Chelsea man has played second fiddle to Lucas Digne so far this campaign but has shown good signs off the bench. He deserves a start to prove what he can do.
CM - Lamare Bogarde: Utilised in this role on the weekend, Bogarde may not be the best on the ball but he’s solid defensively. The plethora of injuries leaves Emery with little choice in the centre of the park.
CM - John McGinn: The skipper could do with a rest but will likely start in the pivot due to Tielemans, Kamara and Onana all being out. McGinn has struggled playing on the right wing, so dropping a little deeper could aid his output.
RW - Jadon Sancho: In need of game time to improve his match fitness, Sancho could get an hour at the Gtech. Although he played on the left for Chelsea, he was most productive on the right for Dortmund.
LW - Evann Guessand: Yet to be utilised centrally, Guessand could get a run out on the flank. As he’s right-footed, the Frenchman can drift in from the left to get involved. His involvement also gives Rogers a chance to recuperate some energy.
ST - Donyell Malen: Not utilised as often as he would’ve hoped since signing, Malen will be hoping to get the nod. Emery doesn’t seem to like the Dutchman on the wing, so maybe he can play his part as a striker, giving Ollie Watkins a rest.
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