Watkins, Maatsen axed in four Emery changes – Aston Villa predicted XI v Monaco
Unai Emery could drop both Ollie Watkins and Ian Maatsen in four changes to the Aston Villa starting XI for the trip to face Monaco on Tuesday.
The England international netted against Arsenal but could still face the axe in the Champions League to allow Jhon Duran to clock up some minutes in the Principality on 21 January.
The Villa boss could also bring Lucas Digne back into the side as he did at half-time against Arsenal after Maatsen’s defensive lapse that allowed Gabriel Martinelli to score.
Emery could also welcome Lamare Bogarde and Leon Bailey into the starting XI, with Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey both potentially dropping out for the Champions League clash.
Unai Emery could drop Ollie Watkins for Aston Villa v Monaco
Despite changes potentially being needed for the Villans with two games in four days, a similar backline is likely to be utilised.
Emi Martinez is likely to start in goal once again after making four saves against the Gunners [FotMob] while Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings could also start again. The latter contributed nine defensive actions at the Emirates in a dominant display.
Ahead of them, Bogarde may come in after maintaining a 100 per cent pass accuracy last time out and could be joined by Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans.
The Belgian netted once, hit the post and also completed two dribbles in an all-action midfield showing.
Morgan Rogers could be set to keep his place in the forward line and could be joined by Bailey on the flank after coming on against Arsenal with just five minutes to go.
Dropping Watkins would seem harsh on the face of it given he scored against Arsenal, but he did miss multiple chances, lost seven duels and had a 33 per cent dribble-success rate.
Duran came on against Mikel Arteta’s side and won 100 per cent of aerial duels so could now be in line for a second Champions League start.
In other Aston Villa news, Gary Lineker has reacted to the “weird” incident against Arsenal after Match of the Day showed footage.
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