Young Lions Watch: The Aston Villa starlets to watch out for in Manchester United showdown
Aston Villa will wrap up their tour of Australia by taking on Manchester United in Perth, with their young stars set to take centre stage again.
Steven Gerrard’s Villans are unbeaten so far in pre-season, beating Walsall, Leeds United and Brisbane Roar without conceding a goal.
Cameron Archer has been Villa’s highest scorer this summer, grabbing two of their six goals, including the winning goal against Brisbane.
Josh Feeney and Kaine Kesler Hayden have also been two breakout stars this summer, with Villa fans getting to look at their first proper look at them in the senior team.
Tim Iroegbunam has also wowed Gerrard with his pre-season performances, while Ben Chrisene has also been impressive when given a chance to play.
Who will take part?
While youth was given a heavy focus earlier in the summer, it is unlikely that youngsters will be given much of a chance against Manchester United.
Villa are coming to the end of their pre-season schedule, with their opening fixture against Bournemouth now being just two weeks away.
Gerrard will presumably be wanting to move towards building his strongest side for the final two friendlies and will be looking to give each starter more than just 45 minutes.
This was reflected in the line-up that started against Brisbane, where Villa opened with a strong starting team and gave the youth a shot in the second half.
Most of the young players will feature from the bench, with Archer and Iroegbunam the most likely to appear.
Gerrard told the Birmingham Mail after the Brisbane victory that he is strongly considering keeping the pair around for the first team next season, so he may want to keep them in for their clash with the Red Devils.
Kesler Hayden was also included in that group, but Gerrard may want to look at both Matty Cash and Frederic Guilbert on Saturday (23 July).
Feeney could also come off the bench, but with him being so young and up against such a high-profile team, Gerrard may want to keep him out of the firing line.
There is also no chance for goalkeeping duo Filip Marschall or Oliwier Zych to feature given that they have not made an appearance yet.
While their minutes may be limited, this will be the Young Lions’ best chance to make an impression given the calibre of opposition they will face.
In other Aston Villa news, Wesley is set to leave Villa on loan to Levante.