Villa will be hoping to make a positive start to the new campaign, particularly against a direct rival for a top-six finish once again this year, and there was good news from Emery in his pre-match press conference.
_**READ MORE: [What Unai Emery said on Villa transfer plans, expected Ramsey exit](https://talk-villa.com/aston-villa-unai-emery-transfer-plans-jacob-ramsey-exit/)**_
The Basque coach confirmed that Morgan Rogers is fit to feature, but neither Ross Barkley nor Andres Garcia have recovered from their respective injuries over pre-season and so they will be absent this weekend.
Those issues aside, it’s as strong a Villa squad as possible, albeit Jacob Ramsey will play no part as he is set to be announced as a Newcastle player imminently, while Leon Bailey is also not in contention as he closes in on a move to Roma.
Further, we’re forced into a change in between the posts as Emiliano Martinez is suspended after his red card in the last game of last season, and so summer signing Marco Bizot will fill that void having had plenty of playing time during the summer to settle in and adapt to his new teammates.
Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa will likely form the right side of our backline, but Emery will have a decision to make on the other half of the quartet, with Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen perhaps favoured given we’re at home and will look to get on the front foot as well as control proceedings.
That said, it’s easy to see Lucas Digne or Tyrone Mings getting the nod instead to give us more defensive solidity, and so those are two key decisions that the Villa boss will have to make.
Another comes in midfield, as although the deeper pivot of Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara has worked so well for us, Amadou Onana’s presence and physicality in that area of the pitch could be pivotal to help us stamp our mark on the game and control the tempo.
In turn, that could push Tielemans into a more advanced role, with John McGinn and Rogers either side of him to provide support behind Ollie Watkins, who will lead the line and hope to build on an impressive pre-season.
Donyell Malen, Emiliano Buendia and Evann Guessand will hope to displace them, but the expectation is that the trio could all start on the bench, with some of our youngsters potentially involved too having been absent from our U21s fixture on Friday night.
That could mean George Hemmings, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, Triston Rowe and Sam Proctor all make the bench, but it’s hoped that we won’t need them to come on in a pressurised situation as that will mean we’ve started the game well and put ourselves in a good position to win.
It’s been a contentious summer amid ongoing talk over financial rules and our push to ensure we comply moving forward, and it could be argued that our squad has suffered as we haven’t strengthened enough. A win on Saturday will no doubt boost confidence and belief within the group, and so it’s hoped that we can make a winning start to the season to start building some positive momentum.
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