Alex Moreno to start for Aston Villa in Premier League clash v Brentford after Lucas Digne development
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton has backed "more than capable" Alex Moreno to successfully fill in for Lucas Digne when Aston Villa take on Brentford.
Digne has started all 16 Premier League games for Villa this season, but he is suspended for Sunday's (17 December) trip to West London.
January signing Moreno is the obvious replacement for Digne, but he has made just three substitute appearances in the league this season.
The 30-year-old's only start to date came in the Europa Conference League win over Legia Warsaw last month when scoring the winning goal.
Moreno's lack of minutes - just 29 in the top flight - is down to an injury he carried into this season from the tail end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Now that he is back up and running, Hutton expects him to get the nod against the Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium.
"Moreno will come in and play," Hutton told Villa News. "He's already showed he's more than capable.
"It's going to be a difficult game, but Unai Emery will likely rest players [against Zrinjski Mostar] on Thursday with a view to the Brentford game."
Villa have defeated Manchester City and Arsenal by the same 1-0 scoreline in their past two matches and are unbeaten in five league outings.
Hutton is predicting his former club to continue that impressive form, which has lifted the Villans into third place, versus Brentford.
"Emery will just want to win as many games as possible," Hutton said. "I do think Villa will scrape it 2-1, but it'll be tight."