Unai Emery must make crucial decision on Leon Bailey for Aston Villa showdown v Liverpool
Aston Villa find themselves in a rut at the worst possible time of the season, and Unai Emery should take Leon Bailey out of the firing line against Liverpool on Monday night (11 May).
Ahead of a match which could see the Villans solidify their place in the Premier League’s top four, Emery could be minded to make tweaks in a squad that has been gutted by injuries.
Villa are winless in their last four, including shock defeats to Olympiacos in each leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final, and despite Bailey performing well in both of those games, he’s been a passenger in their most recent Premier League outings against Chelsea and Brighton.
Leon Bailey should be dropped after poor Aston Villa performances
Aston Villa sit on the very brink of Champions League qualification, four points above fifth-placed Tottenham with just two games left to play.
With a wounded Liverpool side the latest visitors to Villa Park having recently been knocked out of title-winning contention, Emery may be tempted to try and switch things up in a bid to keep the Reds at bay and move further away from Spurs’ grasp.
As such, it may be time for Emery to take Bailey out of the side, particularly given his last two domestic performances have yielded woeful SofaScore ratings of just 6.4 in each.
Against Brighton, a 1-0 defeat on 5 May, Bailey stayed on for the full 90 minutes, despite having zero shots on goal and failing to find a target with three attempted crosses and two long balls (both 0%).
One successful dribble from four attempts is another poor statistic by the Jamaican’s usually high standards, and he lost possession a total of 17 times.
That shocking statistic included losing five of his 10 ground duels, and both of his attempted aerial duels, though he did draw two free-kicks which ultimately came to nothing for Villa.
The signs all point to taking Bailey out of the starting line-up, and although the Villans are missing several big attacking names due to injury – namely the enigmatic Morgan Rogers – it could well be time for Jhon Duran to make just his third Premier League start alongside Ollie Watkins.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery is “ready to spend” ahead of the summer transfer window at Villa Park after agreeing on a club-record deal
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