Alex Moreno handed chance to impress with first start of season as Aston Villa starting XI v Legia Warsaw announced
Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno has been handed his first start of the campaign against Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League – a chance to hand Unai Emery an unwelcome headache.
The Villans announced their starting line-up on their Twitter account for Thursday’s crucial encounter against the Polish giants at Villa Park (30 November) with Emery making several changes including a first start for Moreno.
The left-back sustained a hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield back in May and hasn’t featured for Villa since then.
In fact, the Spaniard made the matchday squads for Villa’s recent two Premier League games against Nottingham Forest and Fulham but was kept on the bench by Emery, instead giving him crucial minutes with the under-21s during the international break.
The left-back played 63 minutes of Villa U21’s 4-3 win over Swansea City in the Premier League Cup on Monday night (13 November) with Aston Villa posting pictures on their official Twitter account of the Spaniard finally in action.
The former Real Betis man has been something of a forgotten man at Villa Park as a result of his long spell out of action but certainly possesses all the tools to hand Emery an unwelcome headache.
Moreno made 19 Premier League appearances after becoming boss Emery’s first signing when he joined in a £13million move from Real Betis in January this year, establishing himself as a regular starter before his injury.
The former Real Betis man was terrific for the Villans last season, recording three assists from his 19 league appearances, topping his expected assists (xA) of 2.58, averaging 1.2 key passes, completing 46% of his dribbles and also averaging 1.2 tackles per game [SofaScore].
According to the Opta-powered stats at FBREF, over the last year, out of every full-back in the top five European leagues, Moreno is in the 96th percentile of players for progressive carries (3.87) and the top 20% of his counterparts for progressive passes received (6.16 per 90) and successful take-ons (1.24 per 90).
Moreno’s attacking qualities have been well documented, and in an Aston Villa side that alters their tactical framework to allow their full-backs to bomb forward, it has proven the perfect match.
In his absence, Frenchman Lucas Digne has taken on the left-back responsibilities expertly so far this season which means Moreno certainly faces a tough fight to regain his spot back.
But, the Spaniard has been given the opportunity to stake his claim again and will certainly be aiming to put in 100% against the Poles as he looks to impress his manager once more.
In other Aston Villa news, one academy wonder has been dealt a crushing blow to his first-team chances after a social media injury update.