Aston Villa suffer blow to Champions League hopes as Fabrizio Romano shares Matty Cash update
Aston Villa are facing arguably the most important stage of their season as they look to book their place in next season’s Champions League under Unai Emery.
While recent form at Villa Park hasn’t been perfect, the Villans remain in an excellent position to not only finish in the top four of the Premier League but also lift some domestic silverware as they continue their Europa Conference League campaign.
With plenty of football to be played in both competitions over the coming weeks, Emery needs his best players fit and available, but a recent update from Fabrizio Romano may provide a blow to Villa’s hopes of a top-four finish.
Writing on X on Wednesday (27 March) Romano said: “Matty Cash will be out for up to three weeks due to hamstring injury, he will miss the first Conference League leg against Lille.
“Cash will be regularly ready for the final part of the season & Euros in the summer.”
Is Matty Cash fit or injured for Aston Villa against Wolves?
Cash hasn’t been a starter for Emery week in and week out this season, but he showed in his display against Ajax at Villa Park that he still has an important role to play from right-back this season.
The 26-year-old completed 93 per cent of 46 attempted passes, five of which found a teammate in claret and blue in the final third, while he was also accurate with 100 per cent of his long-range efforts, according to Fotmob.
Going forward, the Villa defender is more of a goal threat than your average Premier League fullback. This season he sits in the 94th percentile of his positional peers for shots taken per 90 minutes, with an average of 1.47 a game, according to Fbref.
On top of that, the 26-year-old has one of the highest xG rates of any defender in the division, placing in the 97th percentile for non-penalty xG per match of Premier League full-backs with an average of 0.19 a game.
Defensively against Ajax, Cash cleared one effort off the goalline, made two clearances and two ball recoveries, all while only being dribbled past once as Emery’s side picked up a valuable clean sheet against the Eredivisie giants.
In Villa’s 3-2 win over Luton Town, the Polish international won more tackles than any other player, winning possession with 75 per cent of his four challenges while also winning four ground duels in the contest.
Few right-backs in England’s top flight make as many challenges as Cash in the middle third of the pitch. So far this season, the Villa defender has made an average of 1.04 challenges a game, a figure better than 88 per cent of the league’s fullbacks.
Against West Ham, he helped Emery’s side pick up a valuable point with an essential late block and that has become a regular part of his game. Cash blocks an average of 0.57 shots every 90 minutes, more than 82 per cent of Premier League right-backs.
Will Unai Emery qualify for the Champions League this season?
While it is a huge blow to Villa’s hopes for the remainder of the season, Emery and his side will be confident of beating Lille and anyone else they have to face in the Europa Conference League before the end of the season.
Ezri Konsa can step in at right-back and while he doesn’t always look comfortable there, he is a more than able deputy for the next few weeks.
Hopefully, Emery can find a way to get back to winning ways in the Premier League after the international break and ensure that Villa don’t ultimately view this season as a huge opportunity that they missed.
In other Aston Villa news, Jhon Duran could still be set to complete a summer transfer exit from Villa Park
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