Matty Cash decision bizarre as Aston Villa XI confirmed v Manchester City
Unai Emery could regret his decision not to axe Matty Cash from the starting XI as Aston Villa face Manchester City on Saturday.
The Villans will welcome Jack Grealish back to Villa Park on 21 December, which makes the manager's decision to start the Polish international even more baffling.
Diego Carlos is the only change to the starting lineup, which sees Ezri Konsa move into the middle of the defence, supported on the outside flank by Cash. Amadou Onana is a welcome addition, though.
A victory for Villa would take them above Saturday's opponents, who have struggled for form in recent weeks, but the players must not take that for granted against the current Premier League champions.
Emi Martinez must be at the very top of his game, with Pau Torres and Lucas Digne helping to make up the backline.
With Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and Onana making up the midfield, John McGinn, Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers will have to sustain the attacks against Pep Guardiola's side.
It was almost the perfect lineup but Emery could have made a glaring error by starting Cash at right-back, especially with the talent that Man City hold on the wings.
Can Matty Cash withstand the pressure at Aston Villa?
Emery will be hoping his side can get back to winning ways following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out.
Duran and McGinn were involved in Villa's only goal at The City Ground, linking up to take the lead before two late goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga.
As well as being at fault for one of the goals, Cash struggled to make much of an impact going forward and was lucky to not be substituted for his performance.
He only completed 70 per cent of his passes, completed 33 per cent of his dribbles, delivered zero per cent of his crosses and was dispossessed once [FotMob].
From a defensive point of view, things were not much better. The 27-year-old only won 33 per cent of his tackles, and 50 per cent of his ground duels and was dribbled past once.
If he produces a similar display against Man City, it could be a very tough afternoon for the right-back, and the crowd will be livid if Grealish is the one to dismantle him down the flank.
In other Aston Villa news, Amadou Onana sent a message as new Dele Alli transfer news emerged.