View: Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara to start, Tyrone Mings axed – Aston Villa predicted XI v Bournemouth
Aston Villa are set to open their Premier League campaign with a trip to the Vitality Stadium to take on newly promoted Bournemouth this weekend.
The Villans have been busy in the summer market so far, with four first-team signings plus turning Philippe Coutinho’s loan move into a permanent deal from Barcelona.
But Steven Gerrard must now find a way to field his strongest lineup to be able to kick start the season in the best possible way, and he has some big decisions to make to get those answers.
One of those decisions isn’t in goal, with Emiliano Martinez the undisputed number 1 at Villa Park despite the arrival of Robin Olsen this summer.
In defence there isn’t too much change from last season, except Tyrone Mings will no longer wear the armband after Gerrard opted to hand that honour to midfielder John McGinn.
Matty Cash is still the first-choice right-back and will be for the foreseeable future after signing a new deal, while Lucas Digne will keep his place as the first choice left-back with summer signing Ludwig Augustinsson serving as his understudy.
Kortney Hause is out with an injury, but Mings is still likely to lose his place in the heart of the defence as well as the captaincy thanks to the summer arrival of Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
The Brazilian was signed to add authority and physicality to the defence and will start alongside Ezri Konsa, who established himself as one of Gerrard’s favourites last season.
In midfield it’ll look pretty familiar too, with McGinn and Jacob Ramsey being used in their favoured box-to-box roles but the man holding the fort behind them is likely to be summer signing Boubacar Kamara rather than Douglas Luiz.
The Brazilian is in talks to extend his contract at the club but the French ace was brought in as a more solid defensive option and should get the nod here.
In attack Coutinho will take up the left flank as expected, but the right wing is a shootout between several. Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore could be options, but Gerrard is likely to go for an added goal threat with Ollie Watkins.
That would free up the number 9 position for the new number 9 Danny Ings, who struggled in his maiden campaign. Cameron Archer has impressed in pre-season, but he is likely to take his place on the bench.
Predicted Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Carlos, Digne; Kamara, McGinn, Ramsey; Watkins, Ings, Coutinho
In other Aston Villa news, as many as 6 players could leave the club on loan before the end of the window