Amadou Onana holds key to Aston Villa win v Crystal Palace, Unai Emery must listen to facts

Amadou Onana could make all the difference for Unai Emery when Aston Villa welcome Crystal Palace to Villa Park on Wednesday (30 October).

While Villa are already competing in the Premier League, and Champions League, and are soon to enter the FA Cup in January, Emery is unlikely to turn down the opportunity for another chance at silverware.

The EFL Cup certainly resembles a chance for the Villans to achieve that feat, though fellow Premier League side Palace stand in their way of reaching the fifth round.

Emery's side has already beaten Wycombe Wanderers in the competition despite fielding a much-weakened starting XI, and many expect the Spaniard to do the same this time.

However, with a much more dangerous outfit coming to Villa Park, especially off the back of their 1-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday 27 October, Villa may need to rely on some key players.

Unai Emery to start Amadou Onana in Aston Villa v Crystal Palace?

It remains to be seen how strong Emery is planning to make his starting XI for the EFL Cup clash at Villa Park, but stats would suggest that Amadou Onana is a must for the team.

In five meetings with the Eagles during his time in England, the Belgian midfielder has never lost a game, winning three and drawing two, also adding a goal to his account while at Everton.

Although his performances have dropped off in recent weeks, Onana remains a rather key aspect of Emery's squad and playing style, especially when making his runs from the edge of the box.

With two goals in the Premier League this term, the 23-year-old has a 60 per cent shot accuracy, as well as an impressive 90 per cent passing accuracy and an 83 per cent dribbling success rate [FotMob].

He is also crucial in the defensive third for the Villans, ranking in the top 93 percentile for tackles, the top 86 percentile for aerials won, and the top 70 percentile for interceptions [FBref].

If Emery is serious about reaching the next round of the EFL Cup, Onana should be one of the first names on the teamsheet, whether his form has dropped over the last few weeks or not.

In other Aston Villa news, Chris Sutton has hit back at "nonsense" Emi Martinez claims at Villa Park.

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