Unai Emery needs to hook Moussa Diaby at HT v Crystal Palace, too ‘weak’ for Aston Villa
Unai Emery must hook Moussa Diaby at half-time if Aston Villa are to finish the Premier League season on a high against Crystal Palace on Sunday (19 May).
Having secured Champions League qualification for the 2024/25 campaign, the Villans have little left to play for but Emery will want his side to end the season on a high, which is not going to plan so far.
Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta combined to open the scoring, with the latter sending a first-time finish past Robin Olsen for his 17th league goal of the season before doubling the Eagles’ lead before the half-time break.
Diaby had multiple chances to fire Villa back onto level terms, and even take the lead, but has squandered some brilliant opportunities, prompting The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell to dub him “weak” when it comes to shooting.
“Excellent pass from Douglas Luiz to meet Moussa Diaby’s run from out to in and behind Palace’s defence. His shot, though, is weak, and Henderson saves,” he wrote via X on Sunday (19 May).
Moussa Diaby must be sacrificed in Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
The Frenchman has experienced a rollercoaster of a debut season at Villa Park since making the £51.9million move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer. [The Guardian]
Despite a 100 per cent shot accuracy against the Eagles (2/2) and amassing a total of 0.56xG, the 24-year-old has failed to convert, and now his side find themselves behind at the break. [Sofascore]
He has also been successful in zero per cent of his attempted dribbles, as well as winning zero per cent of his aerial duels (0/5). With a zero per cent win rate in aerial duels, Diaby is not firing on all cylinders.
It almost feels as if the winger has already checked out for the season, and some may not blame him considering Emery’s slightly weakened starting XI and little left to play for.
With eight league assists this season, it is clear that the Frenchman is capable of creating a spark when needed, especially ranking in the top 96 percentile for assists in Europe’s top five divisions. [FBref]
However, with a low 22 percentile ranking for non-penalty goals, Diaby is clearly not the player to fire Villa back into the match and must be replaced at half-time if Emery wants to end the season on a positive note.
In other Aston Villa news, the club are to make a transfer decision on one loanee at the club.
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