With their much-needed victory over Fulham, Aston Villa may have righted the ship, but in the last month or so, the competition for a top four finish has heated up.
The return of important Tottenham Hotspur players and Manchester United’s improvement after their defeat to Nottingham Forest have meant that Villa’s slump has coincided with a precarious moment.
Even though Unai Emery understands he will need to do so without a number of important players, he still hopes his team is through it and can build on their 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage this weekend against the Reds.
Although Chris Wood is undoubtedly out, Gonzalo Montiel is questionable, and Taiwo Awoniyi was substituted in the second half of Forest’s match against West Ham, raising concerns about his workload.
In contrast to Villa’s current team news predicament, which has seen the Claret & Blues shaken by not one, but two major knee injuries, that’s a very decent situation.
After midfielder Boubacar Kamara was injured earlier this month against Manchester United, Emery was left with a major dilemma regarding who should play alongside Douglas Luiz in the double pivot.
In defence, the situation is even more dire. Diego Carlos, the centre defender, is recovering from a hamstring injury and won’t be fit until March. Tyrone Mings has been out for an extended period of time and might not play again this season, while Ezri Konsa is out for a similar amount of time due to a knee sprain. Due to a hamstring injury, Villa has been without Jhon Duran up front for several weeks, which has made Ollie Watkins their main substitute.
