Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers and Unai Emery in circular inset
Credit: Imago
Cameron Smith
Wed 15 April 2026 8:10, UK
Aston Villa are preparing to take on Bologna in the Europa League, and Unai Emery has a big call to make over Morgan Rogers.
The Villans secured a big result in Emilia-Romagna last Thursday, with goals from Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins seeing out a 3-1 win away from home.
Bringing a valuable lead back to Villa Park, Unai Emery’s side are the firm favourites to secure a semi-final berth, facing either Nottingham Forest or Porto, who lock horns at the City Ground on Thursday.
With the lead in mind, the Villa boss has a big opportunity to rotate ahead of the season’s crunch point.
And while he cannot go too far with this, he must be considering taking the opportunity to rest one of his star men in Rogers, with the run-in just around the corner.
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Morgan Rogers in need of a rest as Aston Villa, the stats don’t lie
Joining the club from Middlesbrough in 2024, Rogers has continued to shift through the gears during his time in the Second City, with his performances earning interest from clubs across the continent.
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Over the festive period, the attacking midfielder became one of the Premier League’s star players, scoring what felt like a screamer each week.
Morgan Rogers’ season for Aston Villa
Appearances 46
Goals and assists 10/8
Minutes played 3,770
However, his importance and stature within the current Villa squad has hardly helped when it comes to the extreme amount of minutes that he has played throughout the season.
Racking up 3,770 minutes cross all competitions, the 23-year-old has the most in his legs out of any player by far, with only Ezri Konsa coming anywhere near with 3,450.
Also with this in mind, Rogers sits 13th when it comes to minutes played across the Premier League, with the top nine all being goalkeepers who have played every minute of football thus far.
With 2,835 under his belt, James Garner (2,874), Jarrod Bowen (2,871), Elliot Anderson (2,865) and Adrien Truffert (2,840) are the only outfielders to rack up more than the Villa star this term.
Carrying a lead into Thursday, Emery must see the value in handing the 23-year-old a rest, with the option of coming on as a substitute if required during the latter stages.
Rogers has seen his influence fade as of late
After a sensational run earlier in the campaign, Rogers’ influence has faded as the season has progressed – something potentially down to the added minutes in his legs.
Throughout February and early March, the Villans embarked on a poor run that saw them lose grip on the Champions League places, while Emery’s side remained reliant on the attacking midfielder who was starting to lose form.
With Youri Tielemans and John McGinn sidelined, Rogers was the main outlet on the ball for the B6 outfit, and struggled as sides continued to target him as the biggest threat.
Morgan Rogers Aston Villa stats
Emery has a fantastic group of first-teamers at his disposal, though the lack of relative depth has led to Rogers becoming undroppable in the starting lineup, whether that be in his favoured number 10 role, or out wide when needed.
Ahead of the run-in, the Spaniard is not going to have a better opportunity to finally give Rogers some rest, and he must be considering taking that opportunity as they welcome the Rossoblu to Villa Park on Thursday.
While it is hardly much, having the evening off could get the 23-year-old back in form as the Villans fight on all fronts in both the league and Europe.
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