Aston Villa confirmed XI v Arsenal: Unai Emery may regret Nicolo Zaniolo call, two changes made
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the match with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.
The Villans make the trip to North London for Sunday’s (14 April) showdown aiming to build on their midweek European win over Lille.
This Premier League contest comes between the two legs with Lille, and Emery has made two changes for the match, as confirmed by the club’s X account [14 April].
Leon Bailey drops out v Arsenal
One of those is enforced as the suspended Douglas Luiz is replaced by Moussa Diaby, while the other alteration sees Nicolo Zaniolo replace Leon Bailey.
That second decision is one Emery may live to regret, as Bailey is on the bench and was therefore fit to start.
Zaniolo, a second-half substitute against Lille, has just two goal involvements in 29 appearances for the Villans.
The Italy international struggles to link play, with his 71.3-per-cent pass-accuracy return the second lowest of any player still at the club, behind only Jhon Duran (70.6 per cent) [WhoScored].
In his 25-minute cameo appearance against Lille, Zaniolo registered no attempts and therefore had an expected goals return of exactly zero [Sofascore].
Not only that, the 24-year-old completed just two passes and failed to pick out a team-mate from his only cross attempt. Bailey, by comparison, set up a goal and had a shot on target.
Unai Emery makes big selection call v Arsenal
Emery has decided, though, that it is better off resting Bailey and instead using Zaniolo against arguably the division’s best side.
Villa always have a chance when Ollie Watkins is fit and available, however, and the striker will certainly be up for this game.
Watkins has 18 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League this season. His return of 0.60 goals per 90 minutes, as per FBref, is his best in any season as a professional.
Bailey’s absence from the XI may be a blow, but Villa should still be confident of springing a surprise against Arsenal.
In other Aston Villa news, Don Goodman believes the Villans would be better suited to selling four fringe players this summer.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.