Diego Carlos faces biggest test of career at Aston Villa after Villa Park blow
Aston Villa defender Diego Carlos could be set for his biggest test at Villa Park yet after a fresh injury blow emerged on key player Ezri Konsa.
The Telegraph reported on 5 February that the Villans are set to miss Ezri Konsa after the defender was ruled out with a “significant” knee injury which could keep him out for over a month.
The defender’s run of 61 straight league appearances will end at Villa Park on Sunday, following the injury the 26-year-old picked up in the recent 5-0 win over Sheffield United.
Konsa collided with the post in the second half and had to be replaced at Bramall Lane.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth-round replay against Chelsea at Villa Park (6 February), Unai Emery confirmed that Konsa will be missing for a few weeks in a new damaging blow for the club.
Time for Carlos to step up at Villa Park
The defender has made this right-back spot his own in recent weeks, at the expense of Matty Cash, despite his usual preference for playing in the middle and has helped Emery’s side to keep three clean sheets in their last four games.
Despite his fresh blow against the Blades, Konsa once again exerted why he is one of the first names on the teamsheet, recording a 98 per cent passing accuracy, 100 per cent ground duel success rate, and 100 per cent dribble success rate in just 59 minutes of football saw him dominate the right-hand side, picking up an 8/10 score from Villa News player ratings. [Sofascore]
The Englishman has been a consistent presence for Emery all season and one of the reasons why he’s been so crucial is his exceptional durability.
Konsa rarely gets injured and the unfortunate blow against Sheffield United was through no fault of his own after colliding with the post but such is the unpredictable nature of football, Emery will now have to rely on others to step up in Konsa’s absence.
While Cash will likely take Konsa’s right-back spot for now, Brazilian defender Carlos will certainly need to prove he doesn’t need Konsa to impress at Villa Park.
One of the reasons Emery has been hell-bent on Carlos and Konsa at the right-hand side is because the Englishman is a valuable cover for Carlos in case he gets caught out by quick and pacey out-an-out wingers either in the right half-space or out wide.
Carlos is dominant in his central zone but struggles to deal with onrushing attackers when defending near the touchline, hence Emery’s constant decisions to deploy Konsa instead of Cash.
The former Sevilla man will no longer have Konsa to mask his deficiencies in those zones, meaning he now faces the most critical spell of his career at Villa Park and proves he remains one of the vital pieces in Emery’s jigsaw.
Against Sheffield United at the weekend, Carlos was superb with the ball at his feet, recording 123 touches, and completing 93 per cent of his passes, whilst also completing a whopping 14 of his 19 long balls (SofaScore).
Emery decided with the signing of the former Sevilla man because of his reliance and expertness in possession.
However, while Aston Villa were rarely troubled in defence at Bramall Lane, Carlos’ numbers still made for strange reading, failing to win any of his two ground duel attempts and winning just 50 per cent of his aerial duels.
With the Villans facing some crucial and testing fixtures over the next month, and now without one of their most pivotal defensive figures in Konsa, Carlos’ responsibilities and expectations will now increase.
He’s shown throughout his career at Sevilla that he can be relied upon to lead from the back and set an example but the Premier League is a different beast compared to La Liga. Does he have what it takes without his defensive foil in Konsa?
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