Clement Lenglet to be axed amid Pau Torres update – Aston Villa predicted XI v Man Utd
Unai Emery could make two changes to his Aston Villa starting XI to face Manchester United at Villa Park on Sunday 11 February.
The Spaniard named a strong side for Villa’s FA Cup fourth-round replay with Chelsa on Wednesday (7 February) but it wasn’t enough to book a place in the fifth round, with Mauricio Pochettinho’s Blues emerging 3-1 winners.
Therefore, Emery is expected to make a couple of changes to his side for Sunday’s clash with United, with both Clement Lenglet and Youri Tielemans expected to drop out of the starting XI against the Red Devils.
Emi Martinez will continue between the posts despite conceding three against Chelsea. The Argentine still made a brilliant five saves in Wednesday’s clash and impressed with a pass completion rate of 96 per cent [stats via Fotmob].
With Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne sidelined, Alex Moreno and Matty Cash will continue at full-back. Despite Aston Villa’s miserable display in the FA Cup, the pair managed to create three chances between them and Cash managed to win 100 per cent of his ground duels.
At centre-back, Pau Torres was named on the bench against Chelsea and he will likely replace Clement Lenglet on Sunday. The Frenchman was incredibly poor against the Blues winning only 50 per cent of his duels and he even struggled on the ball only completing 38 per cent of his long balls.
Diego Carlos also struggled, but Emery has typically preferred the Brazilian to Lenglet in the Premier League.
When fit, Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz have been Emery’s preferred pairing and they will continue in front of the defence. Kamara managed to win 86 per cent of his seven duels on Wednesday, while Luiz registered an impressive seven passes into the final third.
John McGinn will always start for Aston Villa when fit and he has been named in 100 per cent of Emery’s starting XIs this season and he feels like a shoo-in to start once again against Manchester United at Villa Park.
However, Tielemans will surely drop out of the team having failed to win any of his attempted tackles against Chelsea. The Belgian only had 25 touches in his 71 minutes of action and only managed to complete 60 per cent of his passes.
Moussa Diaby will likely be the man to step up after his goalscoring cameo in the week. The Frenchman had a huge impact from the bench, winning 100 per cent of his tackles and even managing to lay on a chance for his teammates and should be rewarded with a start.
That will leave Ollie Watkins to lead the line. No outfield player had fewer touches in the clash with Chelsea, but the England international’s record of 11 goals and 10 assists in 23 matches makes him a guaranteed starter.
Unai Emery must not panic for Aston Villa against Manchester United
Aston Villa will want to get back to winning ways quickly after their disappointing FA Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea, but Emery doesn’t need to panic.
It was only a matter of days ago that Villa smashed five goals past Sheffield United without even needing to break a sweat and if they play like that against United, they’ll give themselves a very good chance.
Hopefully, Aston Villa can bounce back and continue their charge for the Champions League places. Three points against Manchester United would be the perfect outcome for all inside Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has offered his verdict on Bailey’s new contract at Villa Park
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