Aston Villa: Unai Emery to snub Jhon Duran in twist v Manchester City amid Ollie Watkins update
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery could make a surprise selection twist against Manchester City and snub Jhon Duran in favour of Nicolo Zaniolo, according to Alan Hutton.
Emery’s side travel to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday (3 April) looking to make it back-to-back wins after the international break, but will be without Ollie Watkins after the England international picked up an injury against Wolves.
Duran was the man to replace the 28-year-old against Gary O’Neil’s side at Villa Park on Saturday (30 March) impressing in his second-half cameo as he led the line with a level of energy and physicality similar to that of Watkins.
Most expect the Colombian to start from the off against Manchester City, but Hutton has admitted Emery may be tempted to play a more withdrawn centre-forward, with exit-linked Zaniolo the most likely to feature in that deeper role.
“It will all really fall down to how Ollie Watkins is feeling,” Hutton told Villa News.
“He’s played a lot of football, a lot of minutes, does a lot of running so you can understand that he’s starting to feel that fatigue. You need to start resting him a little bit, but I thought Duran came in and put himself about and worked hard.
“Is he a little bit rough around the edges still? Yes, of course, but he needs to play to iron those edges out if you like. You’ve also got Zaniolo in there who could play almost off of the nine, we’ve seen Bailey play in there at times, and Diaby has played there so I think he’s got options.
“It would all come down to how Ollie Watkins is. If he was capable of playing then I think he’d play.”
Is Ollie Watkins fit to start for Aston Villa and Unai Emery against Manchester City?
Villa and Emery haven’t really had to live without Watkins so far this season as the England international has managed to dodge injury and remain fighting fit despite having a massive workload both domestically and internationally.
Hopefully, the England international isn’t stuck on the sidelines for too long, but Wednesday’s clash with Villa may offer the perfect opportunity for Emery to see how his side cope without their star man ahead of a potential summer sale.
Whether it is Zaniolo or Duran who starts and lead the line against the champions, Villa will have to be near their best to claim anything at the Etihad. They’ve beaten Guardiola’s side once this season, now they just have to do it again.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton has suggested that Villa would “absolutely” be interested in bringing Jack Grealish back to Villa Park
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