Aston Villa confirmed XI v Bournemouth: Unai Emery may regret Diego Carlos decision
Unai Emery has named his starting XI as Aston Villa prepare to face Bournemouth at Villa Park on Sunday (21 April).
The Villans come into the match full of confidence after reaching the Europa Conference League semi-final, bypassing Lille via a dramatic penalty shoot-out after 120 minutes of a 3-3 aggregate stalemate.
Emery’s men will be exhausted from the European tie, but with a top-four spot in the Premier League at stake, the Spaniard has only made two changes, as confirmed by the club’s official X account. [21 April]
Diego Carlos ignored for Aston Villa start once again
Both of the changes are enforced, with Douglas Luiz missing through suspension and Nicolo Zaniolo replaced by Morgan Rogers due to injury.
However, it is Emery’s failure to change the backline that could haunt Villa as they face the Cherries at Villa Park, with Diego Carlos taking up a spot on the bench once again.
The defender started Villa’s impressive 2-0 victory over Arsenal but was dropped for the Europa Conference League second leg against Lille.
Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres both started the match midweek and played all 120 minutes, and the fact Carlos is on the bench would suggest he is fit enough to be involved today.
There will be a huge worry that Villa will be weakened without his presence to face Bournemouth’s attacking trio, especially if the defence have jaded legs.
Against the Gunners, Carlos was incredible when up against Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard, finishing the game with a 92 per cent pass accuracy, one last-man tackle, and four recoveries. [FotMob]
On top of that, he made one block, three clearances and one interception, as well as winning two ground duels. He could be a huge miss on Sunday afternoon.
While Konsa was exemplary against Lille, winning 100 per cent of his tackles, and 100 per cent of his ground and aerial duels, as per FotMob, Torres struggled to get to grips with the magnitude of the tie.
The Spaniard only completed 45 per cent of his attempted long balls and could only win 33 per cent of his aerial duels, with some predicting that he would make way for Carlos. [FotMob]
Torres will hope to rectify his nervy performance against the Ligue 1 side with a defensively sound display against Bournemouth, though Carlos could be called upon at some point in the match.
In other Aston Villa news, King has shared a “case closed” verdict on Douglas Luiz after blasting a “ridiculous” recent admission.
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