Aston Villa return to action in the Premier League this afternoon, giving Unai Emery the chance to rotate his XI after Thursday night’s damning defeat, here’s our predicted lineup.
Unai Emery will be eager to see his side return to winning ways after Aston Villa suffered a shock 4-2 defeat to Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday night.
All the lows from that fixture must now be forgotten, as a spot in the Champions League is still to play for in the Premier League, with a trip to Brighton up next.
While the Villans can move away from the mid-week loss, some performances may have left Emery with a sour taste, which could see him rotate his XI to face the Seagulls this afternoon.
Here’s our Aston Villa predicted XI v Brighton…
Aston Villa predicted lineup, team and injury news v Brighton
The topic of conversation after Villa’s defeat to Olympiacos was how much the squad missed the presence of Emi Martinez in goal.
Against Brighton, Emery could restore the Argentine back to the starting lineup ahead of Robin Olsen on the condition that the 31-year-old feels ‘comfortable’ prior to the match.
READ MORE: Latest Aston Villa injury news v Brighton
It’s almost certain that Pau Torres will return to the back four, joining Ezri Konsa in central defence, seeing Lucas Digne and Matty Cash keep their places on the flanks, despite the manager’s preference of deploying Konsa on the right side.
In his pre-match press conference, Emery was unable to shed light on whether Youri Tielemans could feature against Brighton, with the midfield triggering alarm bells on Thursday night.
Assuming that the Belgian won’t be ready to travel to the South Coast, the boss could start John McGinn in a deeper role alongside rarely-seen Tim Iroegbunam, who could offer defensive cover to the engine room.
The Villa academy graduate’s entrance into the XI could see the Douglas Luiz axed to the bench in what would be a bold, but important rotation for the manager to consider.
Despite being ‘unbelievable’ for Aston Villa over the years, as Dean Smith lauded him, the Brazilian has been below-par for some weeks, with his performance on Thursday being dubbed a ‘nightmare’.
Some time away from the starting XI could hand the 25-year-old the incentive needed to rediscover his form, also handing Iroegbunam a chance to impress.
On the flanks, it would be expected that Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers would start, with Moussa Diaby playing just behind Ollie Watkins.
It could be a record-breaking occasion for the Villa talisman, who will be eyeing his 20th goal of the season, which would make him Villa’s highest scorer in a single Premier League campaign.
Full Aston Villa PXI:
Olsen; Digne, Torres, Konsa, Cash; Rogers, Iroegbunam, McGinn, Bailey; Diaby, Watkins
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