Aston Villa: Unai Emery to snub Ezri Konsa v Luton Town despite injury update in selection twist
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will stick with the same side that beat Nottingham Forest against Luton Town despite Ezri Konsa’s return to first-team training, according to Alan Hutton.
Villa make the trip to Kenilworth Road on Saturday (2 March) looking to build off of their impressive 4-2 win over Forest last time out and increase their hopes of finishing in the Champions League places this season.
Emery’s side have been boosted by the return of Konsa to first-team training this week after the England international missed Villa’s last four matches with an injury sustained in their 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
While most would expect the 26-year-old to immediately slot back into the Villans’ backline against the Hatters on Saturday, Hutton doesn’t think Emery needs to change much from the side that claimed all three points against Forest.
“I don’t think it will be far off it,” Hutton told Villa News.
“He always makes one or two changes, he doesn’t really tend to veer away from what he picked in the previous game if everybody is fit.
“I think Luton will be a massive test, especially there [Kenilworth Road] it’s always been difficult. People have seen how hard it is to go there and pick up all three points.
“I think this team at this moment in time, especially with the confidence that they’ve shown off the back of the Forest game, I wouldn’t really feel any need to change it unless there are new injuries.”
Will Ezri Konsa start for Aston Villa and Unai Emery against Luton Town?
Emery has seen his backline torn apart by injury in recent weeks at Villa Park, with the likes of Konsa, Pau Torres, Diego Carlos and Tyrone Mings all spending portions of the season on the treatment table with various injuries.
However, Konsa’s return will be a huge boost to the Spanish manager as few defenders in the Premier League have been as reliable and consistent as the 26-year-old this term, both at centre-back or even as a right-back.
Hopefully, he can continue to impress between now and the end of the season and remain injury-free as it will massively boost Villa’s chances of finishing in the top four this term.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton has tipped Emery to secure the “statement” signing of Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan this summer
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