Emery can’t trust Youri Tielemans v West Ham after what he did for Aston Villa
Unai Emery could axe Youri Tielemans from the Aston Villa starting XI against West Ham after his performance against Leicester City.
The Villans welcome the East London outfit to B6 on Friday (10 January) in the FA Cup third round in a break from Premier League action.
The clash against Graham Potter’s side comes a week after Villa went unbeaten at home for the tenth Premier League game in a row.
Emery will be keen to extend that record in the FA Cup but may have a better chance by making a change to his midfield against the Hammers.
Youri Tielemans could be dropped for Aston Villa v West Ham
If the Spaniard is to make multiple changes to his starting XI for the clash against Irons, Tielemans could face the axe from the Villa boss.
This comes after the Belgium international registered just 57 touches against his former side [FotMob] on 4 January.
With those, the 27-year-old failed to create a single chance which isn’t a surprise given that he made just seven passes into the final third and only had two touches in the Foxes’ penalty area.
The ex-Monaco man failed to complete a single dribble or cross with a zero per cent success rate in both on the day at Villa Park.
Tielemans also lost six duels up against the midfield of Boubakary Soumare and Harry Winks and could be outmuscled by the West Ham midfield if he is handed a start.
With that being said, someone like Amadou Onana could add some physicality or Emi Buendia could add the creativity required to help secure a fourth-round place.
In other Aston Villa news, a defender has signed up an ex-Villa Park star as their new agent.
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