Aston Villa: Unai Emery may hand Tim Iroegbunam start v West Ham after Villa Park controversy
Aston Villa have an excellent chance to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United.
Unai Emery’s side have been handed a boost to their top-four and Champions League hopes after Tottenham were beaten 3-0 by Fulham on Saturday (16 March) to miss the opportunity to move above Villa.
However, Spurs’ defeat will mean very little if Villa come away from East London empty-handed on Sunday (17 March) and Emery will have to make do without John McGinn, after the Scottish international saw red against Ange Postecoglou’s side.
McGinn has started every match in the Premier League so far this season and has been crucial to the Villans’ success domestically and in Europe, scoring six goals and laying on three assists while flourishing in attacking midfield and more recently a deeper role.
But with Boubacar Kamara sidelined with an injury until the end of the season, the 29-year-old’s suspension may open the door for Tim Iroegbunam to start his first game in the Premier League this season.
Is John McGinn suspended for Aston Villa against West Ham United?
The 20-year-old midfielder has made one Premier League start for Villa previously in his career, all the way back in the 2021/22 campaign when he featured against Norwich City, but has made do from the bench this term.
Emery did hand Iroegbunam a start in the Europa Conference League round of 16 clash away with Ajax and the midfielder performed reasonably well, winning 100 per cent of his tackles and finding a teammate with 88 per cent of his passes, according to Fotmob.
Three of those efforts saw him find a teammate in the final third. He also demonstrated his technical ability on the ball as he completed 100 per cent of his attempted dribbles and his only attempted long pass.
Iroegbunam hasn’t had the perfect start to his career in the Villa first-team but after a reasonable season on loan with QPR in the Championship, it’s about time the 20-year-old was handed his second start in the Premier League.
With McGinn missing, following the controversial red card, Kamara sidelined and Youri Tielemans preferred in a more attacking role, it seems almost certain Iroegbunam will be named from the off at the London Stadium.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has offered his verdict on who could be the next captain at Villa Park after McGinn
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