Aston Villa: Unai Emery to make John McGinn change in new selection twist for Ajax showdown
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will restore John McGinn to the starting XI for Villa’s Europa Conference League clash with Ajax, according to Alan Hutton.
The Scotsman was rested for the first leg of the tie in Amsterdam last Thursday (7 March) and was introduced midway through the second half as Emery’s side drew 0-0 to leave the tie in the balance for the return leg at Villa Park.
Since the showdown at the Johan Cruyff Arena, McGinn has picked up a three-match Premier League suspension in the Premier League after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Spurs defender Destiny Udogie.
While the 29-year-old’s absence is a blow to Villa’s top-four hopes this season, Hutton believes it may benefit Emery against Ajax as he can start McGinn on Thursday (14 March) without worrying about Sunday’s (17 March) meeting with West Ham.
“He has always made changes,” Hutton told Villa News.
“I thought at Ajax he would go full strength, obviously John didn’t start but I thought against Ajax, away from home, you can see what’s kind of ahead if you get through this game, there are opportunities available, but he made a couple of changes.
“I think for this one, there might be one or two changes. Obviously, I think John will come in and play because he’s suspended for the league games so that kind of has that done.”
Can John McGinn start for Aston Villa against Ajax in the Europa Conference League?
Emery will have to adapt his starting XI slightly from the first leg in Amsterdam as Ezri Konsa will not be available having been shown a red card in the second half of the clash, meaning a defensive reshuffle is on the cards.
While Villa defended well against the Eredivisie giants, they struggled to really lay a glove on them going forward and they will hope that they can pose a greater attacking threat in front of the Villa Park crowd, especially after the defeat to Spurs.
Hopefully, the Villans will book their place in the next round regardless of who Emery picks from the start, but this could be the last sight Villa supporters get of their skipper in claret and blue for the next few matches.
In other Aston Villa news, Konsa has been tipped to replace McGinn as Villa captain after new Sky Sports footage emerged of the duo
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