Aston Villa selection headache awaits Unai Emery v Brighton after Matty Cash showing in Liverpool draw
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery faces several selection dilemmas for the last day of the season showdown against Brighton, but none more so than who to start at right-back.
The Villans host Roberto De Zerbi’s side at Villa Park on Sunday (28 May) as their quest for European football comes to a climax.
Emery’s side currently sit a point above Spurs in 7th position – the final European spot the Premier League has to offer – with the direct rivals set to travel to Elland Road to square off against relegation-threatened Leeds United.
And although a number of spots fill themselves in the Aston Villa starting lineup, including Ollie Watkins in attack, Douglas Luiz in midfield and Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa in central defence, there is one nagging selection issue which will surely be giving Emery headaches all week long.
After sustaining a hamstring in the March international break and only recently returning to full fitness, Matty Cash has largely remained an understudy to Ashley Young in the right-back berth.
However, he was given his first run-out from the first whistle since 18 March against Liverpool, and he didn’t disappoint.
Playing in the cauldron-like atmosphere at Anfield and facing off against Reds speedster Luis Diaz, the right-back more than held his own as Liverpool bombarded the Villa box with a brutal late assault.
During his 90-minute showing, Cash managed to record an impressive five tackles – only bettered by Boubacar Kamara’s eight – while also chipping in with three clearances, one interception and a blocked shot. [SofaScore]
In one-on-one situations against both Diaz and Mohammed Salah at times, Cash was strong in the tackle, winning six of his ten ground duels.
This statistic, in particular, could come into Emery’s thinking ahead of the Brighton clash, with Kaoru Mitoma likely to pose a serious threat down the left wing with his pace and trickery.
The predicament for the Villa boss is that the evergreen Young has been equally impressive in defence this season, sitting in the 90th percentile of Premier League full-backs for dribblers tackled (1.64 per 90) and in the top 6% of his counterparts for the percentage of dribbles tackled (75.5%). [FBREF]
One option that Villa could consider is to field both these in-form defenders, which would subsequently come at the expense of Lucas Digne at left-back. With Alex Moreno ruled out of the upcoming clash with a thigh injury, a position has opened up at left-back.
However, this would be an extremely risky call, considering neither Cash nor Young has regularly played in this position in recent months.
Emery faces a tricky choice for Aston Villa’s most important game of the Premier League season – the master or the apprentice.
In other Aston Villa news, the future of this loanee hangs in the balance as contract talks await.