Aston Villa head to the London Stadium to face West Ham United, looking to bounce back from their 4-0 humbling against Tottenham Hotspur.
Unai Emery’s side haven’t been beaten in consecutive Premier League matches this season, and will be looking to get their Champions League aspirations back on track.
The Hammers have endured an inconsistent 2023/24 campaign but still sit seventh in the table, ten points adrift of the Villans.
Ahead of the fixture, David Moyes confirmed that Maxwel Cornet would definitely be out and that doubts remained over Emerson Palmieri.
Aston Villa also have several well-documented injury issues. Boubacar Kamara, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia are all long-term absentees, although the latter has returned to light training on the grass.
Diego Carlos, Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey are further injury doubts. Captain John McGinn is suspended after picking up a straight red card against Spurs.
With Kamara, Ramsey and McGinn out, one of Villa’s youngsters could be set to start in midfield.
Tim Iroegbunam could start for Aston Villa v West Ham United
20-year-old Tim Iroegbunam, who has featured for just 56 minutes of Premier League football this season, could be set to make his full top-flight debut against the Hammers.
The midfielder came through the academy at West Bromwich Albion before being poached by Villa in the summer of 2021. Once referred to as a “sensation” in 2022, the youngster impressed during his loan spell with Queens Park Rangers last season.
Recent injuries have seen Iroegbunam move up the pecking order, and with McGinn suspended and Ramsey potentially unavailable, Emery could throw the 20-year-old in from the outset.
He has experience in the Conference League and Sunday’s clash could be the perfect chance to give the former QPR loanee his full Premier League debut.
Talking ahead of the fixture, the Villa boss insisted his focus was on recovery and picking a team he believes can compete.
“My objective is to recover with the players and prepare as best as possible for the match on Sunday and to be competitive on Sunday because the only way to win there is being competitive,” he told Aston Villa’s website. “I also need to be clinical in every decision I take tactically.”
The post Aston Villa 'sensation' could make first Premier League start against West Ham today - opinion appeared first on Aston Villa News.