Unai Emery to axe Diego Carlos – Aston Villa predicted XI v Tottenham

Unai Emery could drop Diego Carlos from his Aston Villa starting XI amid 10 changes ahead of the trip to face Tottenham on Sunday 2 November.

The Villans travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they look to get back to winning ways after a 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup on Wednesday (30 October).

The Spaniard made 10 changes to his side for the clash against the Eagles and now has a decision to make for his side for a return to Premier League action in North London.

One change that is as likely as any is Emi Martinez coming back into the side in place of Joe Gauci, just days after winning a second Yashin Trophy.

Ahead of him, Tyrone Mings and Carlos could be set to lose their places, especially after the Brazilian made a mistake and won just 33 per cent of tackles against Palace [FotMob]. This could see Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres return to the starting XI at centre back.

Jhon Duran dropped to bench again for Aston Villa v Tottenham

At full back, Ian Maatsen is likely to lose his starting spot to Lucas Digne after failing to complete a single dribble, cross or long ball against Crystal Palace. On the opposite side, it is a similar story as Matty Cash could replace Kosta Nedeljkovic despite winning 100 per cent of his tackles and five duels in the EFL Cup clash.

Despite an up-and-down performance, John McGinn could keep his place with Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana coming back in to replace Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia. This is despite the Frenchman registering an 87 per cent pass accuracy while winning nine duels.

In attacking areas, Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey could reclaim their starting roles after missing out against Crystal Palace. Jaden Philogene completed just 30 per cent of dribbles against Palace and as a result could be dropped alongside Leon Bailey.

Aston Villa predicted XI v Tottenham
Aston Villa predicted XI v Tottenham

Despite getting on the scoresheet last time out, Jhon Duran looks set to return to the bench after maintaining a pass accuracy of just 65 per cent and missing one big chance. This could see Ollie Watkins return to reclaim his number-nine role.

In other Aston Villa news, contract news has emerged from Villa Park after a new salary claim was made.

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