Aston Villa season bound to end on bad note as Calum Chambers starts v Crystal Palace
Unai Emery may regret his decision to start Calum Chambers as Aston Villa travel to Selhurst Park on the final day of the Premier League season to face Crystal Palace on Sunday (19 May).
Having secured Champions League football for next season, Villa head into the match with little to play for while Oliver Glasner’s Palace side can only aim to finish in the top half of the table.
Emery has made four changes to the team who drew 3-3 with Liverpool, firstly with Emiliano Martinez dropping out of the squad entirely and Robin Olsen given the nod in between the sticks. [Aston Villa]
Pau Torres also makes way for Clement Lenglet, with Chambers replacing Youri Tielemans, and Leon Bailey missing out entirely with Jhon Duran filling in after his heroics at Anfield.
John Townley also reported via X that Emery’s son, Lander Emery, had travelled with the squad, as had Finlay Munroe, Omari Kellyman and Kadan Young.
Calum Chambers could make negative impact in Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Of course, with nothing riding on the match, it makes sense for fringe players to be given an opportunity on the final day of the season, though the Villans will still be hoping to end the season on a high.
The involvement of Chambers will not fill many with confidence as the defender makes his first Premier League start of the campaign, having been introduced as a substitute against Liverpool last time out.
Having made a 10-minute cameo in the 3-3 draw, the 29-year-old left the field with a 50 per cent passing accuracy, winning 0 per cent of his tackles and touching the ball just eight times. [FotMob]
Though he did provide an assist for Duran first goal of the game against Jurgen Klopp’s side, he may struggle to play the full 90 minutes against the Eagles.
He also came onto the pitch during Villa’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in April, trudging off the pitch with a yellow card to his name and another defeat on his record. [FotMob]
Chambers could only win 50 per cent of his ground duels and made one foul, which resulted in him being shown a yellow card. If he is to be playing in midfield, rather than a back five with Diego Carlos and Lenglet, he could struggle even further.
Villa will certainly miss the presence of Tielemans in the middle of the park if this is the case. The Belgian ranks in the top 84 percentile for progressive passes, as per FBref, and also the top 99 percentile for assists compared to midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.
While injuries appear to have taken their toll on Emery’s squad, the Spaniard will likely regret his choice to start Chambers against Palace on Sunday.
In other Aston Villa news, one player linked with a switch to FC Barcelona would be happy to join Emery’s side instead.
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