Emi Martinez should face brutal Aston Villa axe v Bournemouth, he is nowhere to be seen in Premier League statistic
Aston Villa are really going strong in the Premier League under Unai Emery, with the Midlands club currently sitting fourth in the table.
They are now level with third-placed Liverpool on 28 points, just one point behind Manchester City in second and two points behind league leaders Arsenal.
And key to their success on the pitch has been Emi Martinez, with the goalkeeper producing many crucial saves throughout the campaign.
That was certainly the case in the 2-1 victory against Tottenham on Sunday (26 November), with the Argentine making a fantastic six saves to help Villa clinch all three points [Sofascore].
Five of those saves were inside the box, as the shot-stopper also made two high claims, one punch and was successful in his one run out (100%).
It was a typical Martinez display in every sense, given his superb shot-stopping but also given how the goalkeeper did not keep a clean sheet.
Scoring goals has certainly not been a problem under Emery, with Aston Villa currently only being outscored by Manchester City, by 33 goals to 31 [official Premier League website].
But the rate at which his side are conceding will annoy the boss, with the likes of Tottenham (17), Manchester United (16) and Newcastle United (14) all conceding fewer goals than the Midlands club (18) this season, as per the official Premier League website.
In terms of clean sheets, trio Sam Johnstone, Andre Onana and Nick Pope lead the way with five each, with the 2022 World Cup winner nowhere near them on two [official Premier League website].
Moreover, the latest figures from Squawka (29 November) regarding the best save percentage in the Premier League so far this season is not good reading, with Villa’s number one not even making it into the top 10.
Of course it is not all Martinez’s fault, but given how much football he has played for club and country in recent times, a well-deserved rest may not be the worst idea from his manager.
The Argentine was indeed given a break for the Europa Conference League clash with Legia Warsaw on Thursday (30 November), with Robin Olsen coming in.
But even with that rest, Emery could be tempted to keep Martinez on the bench for the trip to Bournemouth on Sunday (3 November) in order to allow him to rest further ahead of a busy period.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery may be left with no choice but to axe one player after his 0% shocker against Tottenham.