Aston Villa welcome Liverpool to Villa Park on Monday night knowing that a win will secure a spot in next season’s Champions League.
It has been a disappointing couple of weeks for Villa, with a league defeat away at Brighton sandwiched between losses home and away against Olympiacos to see them crash out of the Europa Conference League.
The latest of the European semi-final defeats came on Thursday night, as Unai Emery‘s side struggled in their efforts to claw back a 4-2 first-leg deficit and ended the night going out with a whimper with a 2-0 defeat in Greece.
Villa’s players have looked fatigued in recent weeks, with a long and hard season catching up with the squad.
However, they need just three points to ensure they will be playing in Europe’s elite club competition next campaign and Emery has a fresh player he should unleash to help get the job done against Liverpool.
Jhon Duran should be handed start against Liverpool
That player is Jhon Duran.
The 20-year-old striker has understandably played second fiddle to Ollie Watkins this season.
However, with tired legs and depleted attacking options due to a mounting injury list, perhaps it is time for Emery to play the pair together in what would be a real statement of intent against a Liverpool side stung by their title dreams dying at the weekend.
Watkins has had an incredible season, scoring 19 league goals despite not taking penalties, as well as providing 12 assists. The 28-year-old has struggled in recent games, though, and the introduction of the energetic Duran alongside him could help the England striker get back to his best at a key time.
Duran has started just nine games in all competitions this season according to Transfermarkt, but has six goals to show for his time on the pitch. The young striker has enormous potential but is very raw which has led to Emery only entrusting him with Premier League starts twice this season.
Transfer reporter Dean Jones labelled the Colombian attacker as ‘erratic’ on the Ranks FC podcast, but it is this that makes the striker so unpredictable and the chaos he causes – as seen by his recent penalty win off the bench against Olympiacos – could make the difference against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Matty Cash should drop out for Duran
Emery would have to re-jig his side to accommodate Duran, but this is something he is likely considering anyway given Villa have lost three in a row.
With Morgan Rogers coming off injured in the 1-0 defeat to Brighton, Matty Cash came on to operate on the right of the midfield rather than his usual right-back position.
He reprised a similar role on Thursday night, playing as a right wing-back against Olympiacos but had a really poor night and Emery may see fit to replace the Poland international in the starting line-up.
This should mean Ezri Konsa continues at right-back, and Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby play on either flank to allow Duran to partner Watkins up front.
This would give Villa a really attacking feel and the positive nature of the selection could get their home fans excited ready to generate a huge atmosphere for the final home game of the season.
The Villa players know that, even if they fail to beat Liverpool, they could see their Champions League spot confirmed if Tottenham Hotspur fail to be Manchester City on Tuesday night.
However, they will be desperate to complete the job in front of their own fans and get the party started at Villa Park.
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