On Thursday night, Aston Villa face AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting lineup could look.
Villa have recovered well from our first-day defeat to Legia Warsaw, securing back-to-back victories to move into second place in Group E and, as things stand, in a strong position to advance.
Despite the 4-1 victory in Alkmaar last time out, Emery is unlikely to make too many changes and weaken his starting XI given the quality of the opposition and their desire to get a crucial result on the road, and as a result, he is unlikely to make too many changes and weaken his starting XI.
Team news for Villa vs. AZ Alkmaar
In his pre-match press conference, Villa manager Steve Bruce confirmed that Matty Cash has recovered from a shoulder injury suffered against Nottingham Forest over the weekend and will be available for selection.
There was a strong indication that Alex Moreno is ready to play now that he has recovered from his hamstring injury, but it’s still too early for Jacob Ramsey, who is expected to return after the international break.
Jhon Duran was also seen in training this week, indicating that he has recovered from his toe injury, and the Colombian international is expected to be included in the squad for this match.
Emery’s Villa XI could benefit from one change.
A win in this meeting will significantly boost our chances of qualifying out of the group, giving Emery more flexibility and less pressure in our remaining two group games, allowing him to rotate more.
Coupled with the difficulty of the opposition, it appears that we will field a strong side once more, and that should begin with Emiliano Martinez retaining his place between the posts.
Although Cash may be fit enough to play, this could be a game where we shift Ezri Konsa to right-back and have Diego Carlos partner Clement Lenglet, with the possibility that Pau Torres is rested for this one.
Lucas Digne could keep his left-back spot, with Moreno hoping to come off the bench in the second half and get valuable playing time to improve his match fitness and sharpness. A beginning for
With Douglas Luiz given the night off after a heavy workload this season, John McGinn should lead a strong midfield alongside Boubacar Kamara, with Youri Tielemans possibly getting a chance to impress.
Nicolo Zaniolo on the left side could complete the midfield quartet, with Moussa Diaby partnering Ollie Watkins in the final third. Zaniolo’s inclusion might make more sense in the home game, where AZ may sit back and make it difficult for us to break them down by limiting the space in behind.
It could easily be Leon Bailey instead of one of Zaniolo or Diaby, given his recent form, and it will be interesting to see what Emery goes with in our attempt to take a big step towards qualifying for the knockout stage.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs AZ Alkmaar: Martinez, Konsa, Diego Carlos, Lenglet, Digne; McGinn, Kamara, Tielemans, Zaniolo; Diaby, Watkins.
How do you see Villa lining up for this game? Any changes to the above XI?
