Matty Cash remains an injury doubt ahead of Aston Villa vs Leeds United in the Premier League.placeholder image
Matty Cash remains an injury doubt ahead of Aston Villa vs Leeds United in the Premier League. | Getty Images
Predicting Unai Emery’s Aston Villa lineup to take on Leeds United at home in the Premier League.
Aston Villa return to Premier League action this weekend as they host Leeds United in their first 3pm Saturday kick-off for over a year.
The Villans suffered a painful 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United last time out, dumped out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage. Villa were 1-0 up through Tammy Abraham’s opener but Marco Bizot’s careless red card put Unai Emery’s side on the back foot, and Newcastle completed their comeback.
There’s a good chance to make amends for that result now, though, as Villa shift their focus back to the most important competition of all. Emery will want to ignore Arsenal dropping points away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night, but that has opened the door for Villa to move within five points of the Premier League leaders.
With the league very much the priority, we can expect Emery to rotate in many of his first-choice players after resting a few against Newcastle. There may not be a return for Matty Cash just yet, however, after the Poland international missed Villa’s last outing through a knee injury.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Leeds
Without further ado, here’s how we reckon Emery’s side will shape up against the Whites.
GK - Emiliano Martinez: The World Cup winner remains the obvious first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Marco Bizot, and that definitely won’t change now that Bizot is suspended.
RB - Lamare Bogarde: Proving to be a handy utility option, Bogarde could start again as Cash is facing a race against time to be back from his knee injury. Cash will be assessed day by day.
CB - Ezri Konsa: Villa’s no.4 has had the odd shaky moment this season but he’s been brilliant most of the time. Konsa will be determined to build some strong form ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
CB - Tyrone Mings: Offering a bit more physicality, Mings could rotate back in for Pau Torres. Emery seems to like the pair equally, it just depends which qualities he wants from his left-sided centre-back on the day.
LB - Ian Maatsen: Emery has chopped and changed between Digne and Ian Maatsen this season. Digne has been out of sorts recently, so Maatsen is likely to get the nod for the foreseeable future.
CDM - Douglas Luiz: The Brazilian has slotted in exceptionally well considering he struggled so much at Nottingham Forest and Juventus. Emery has spoken about the huge responsibility Luiz has in the absence of Youri Tielemans and John McGinn.
CDM - Amadou Onana: Despite struggling for fitness, Onana should get the nod in the double pivot once again. With Boubacar Kamara out for the rest of the season, Onana can perform a pivotal role in the final matches, as long as he can stay fit.
CAM - Emiliano Buendia: Villa’s surprise package so far this season, Buendia will probably rotate back in for Ross Barkley. The Argentine was linked with a move to Leeds in the summer but has since proven he’s above that level.
RW - Jadon Sancho: It’s a battle between two revitalised attackers for the right wing spot, but Sancho probably just about edges into the XI ahead of Leon Bailey at this stage.
LW - Morgan Rogers: Undroppable when available, Rogers simply has to start. Rogers has been in every Premier League XI so far this season, so we don’t expect that to change. Why would it?
ST - Tammy Abraham: It may have been offside, but it counted and Abraham got on the scoresheet against Newcastle. It’s a tough choice between Abraham and Watkins, but the former might just be in the better form.
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