Tyrone Mings out, four changes – Aston Villa predicted XI v Crystal Palace
Unai Emery could make four changes to his Aston Villa starting line-up to face Crystal Palace on Tuesday with Tyrone Mings potentially forced to sit out.
Aston Villa earned their first Premier League win since mid-January at the weekend, beating Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday (22 February), courtesy of a brace from Marco Asensio.
Emery and Co will look to build on that when they visit Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 25 February as a victory could take them to fourth place at least momentarily.
However, the Spaniard could be forced into two changes in South London, while two other changes may also be in the pipeline.
Axel Disasi straight back in
As always, Emiliano Martinez will guard the goal for Aston Villa, but the Argentina international could see some changes to the backline in front of him.
Axel Disasi missed the game against Chelsea as the loanee was prohibited from facing his parent club and is likely to be drafted straight back into the starting line-up on Tuesday. However, he could have a different centre-back partner this time after playing alongside Boubacar Kamara and Mings in his first two appearances for Villa.
Emery replaced Mings with Lamare Bogarde just before the one-hour mark against Chelsea after the defender experienced discomfort in his knee. The Englishman won each of his five duels (100 per cent) before going off, but could be forced to miss the trip to Palace [FotMob].
| Stat | Tyrone Mings |
| Minutes Played | 59 |
| Accurate Passes | 43/47 (91 per cent) |
| Passes into final third | 8 |
| Touches | 5 |
| Tackles Won | 1/1 |
| Last man tackle | 1 |
| Ground duels won | 3/3 |
| Aerial duels won | 2/2 |
This means Ezri Konsa could keep his place in his team after completing the most amount of passes (82) in the game against the Blues, with Matty Cash expected to continue at right-back.
Meanwhile, it would not be a surprise if Emery made a change at left-back after Ian Maatsen won just two of his five ground duels (40 per cent) and lost his only aerial duel on Saturday. This means Lucas Digne could go back into the line-up.
Barring any surprises, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans will continue in a double pivot in midfield, with Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Kamara unavailable.
Marcus Rashford to start for Aston Villa
Morgan Rogers is another player who could be forced to drop out of the starting line-up after taking a knock against Chelsea. After the game, Emery revealed that the attacker asked to be substituted, prompting him to bring Donyell Malen on.
However, Leon Bailey may be given the nod ahead of Malen against Palace. The Jamaica international, who also featured as a substitute at the weekend, registered 11 touches, including four in the opposition box, during his 13-minute cameo, while also getting his only shot on target.
Asensio is expected to play in an advanced attacking role after his brace against Enzo Maresca’s side, while Marcus Rashford could be rewarded for his impactful second-half performance. Not only did the Manchester United loanee create three chances, but also had three shots, although both were blocked.
Ollie Watkins, meanwhile, will lead the line for Emery’s side.