Ollie Watkins to miss Aston Villa clash v Middlesbrough in FA Cup, Jhon Duran in line to start
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 tipped Jhon Duran to start when Aston Villa take on Middlesbrough in a “tough” FA Cup third-round tie at Riverside Stadium this weekend.
Duran has yet to start a Premier League game for the Villans since arriving from Chicago Fire in an £18million deal 12 months ago [BBC Sport, 23 January].
All 25 of the Colombia international’s appearances in the English top flight have come as a substitute, largely due to the form of Ollie Watkins up top.
The 20-year-old has been named in Unai Emery’s starting line-up six times in cup competitions this season, though, and Hutton expects him to add to that tally on Saturday [6 January].
The BBC Sport pundit also told Villa News exclusively that Leander Dendoncker is another player likely to get the nod against the Championship promotion chasers.
“Unai Emery will obviously want cup success, there’s no getting away from that, but you look at the European competitions and he’s made changes,” Hutton said.
“I think that’ll be the same here. You look at Ollie Watkins, who was outstanding against Burnley, but he can’t play every minute of every game.
“I think he could be rested and Duran brought in. Duran works well up front.
“Emery also likes to change things in midfield, with Dendoncker often brought in. He’s also got options at the back, so I think he’ll make changes.
“This’ll be a tough game, by the way, going away to Boro – it won’t be easy. It’ll be tough for Villa but I do expect to see changes.”
In other Aston Villa news, the axe may now beckon for a 50-per-cent player after what happened against Burnley.