Emery ‘makes John McGinn error’ – Aston Villa confirmed XI v Club Brugge
Unai Emery has made three changes to his Aston Villa side as they travel to face Club Brugge on Tuesday.
The Villans are set to return to Champions League action on 4 March as they face an away trip to face the Belgian side at Jan Breydelstadion.
The B6 club are coming off the back of a 2-0 win last time out against Cardiff City thanks to a second-half brace from Marco Asensio at Villa Park.
Emery will be keen to replicate this performance on the European stage and with a view to doing so, the Spaniard has made multiple changes to his side.
Aston Villa confirmed XI v Club Brugge
Despite going off at half-time against Crystal Palace, Emi Martinez returned last time out and has been named to start in goal once again.
Ahead of the Argentine, Axel Disasi, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne have come into the side to join Ezri Konsa. The England international kept up a 98 per cent pass accuracy against the Championship side [FotMob] and will be hopeful of putting in a similar showing in Brugge.
The base of midfield has remained the same for Emery’s side, which may come as a surprise, as Youri Tielemans and John McGinn start once again.
The skipper lost one duel against Cardiff which came after completing zero per cent of his attempted crosses in his last Premier League outing against Crystal Palace, and it may well be an error on Emery’s behalf to have selected him again.
With Boubacar Kamara returning to fitness and taking a place on the bench, the Frenchman may have proven to be a wiser option from the start on the European stage.
| Stat (Premier League 24/25) | Boubacar Kamara |
| Passes completed | 554 |
| Pass accuracy | 90.2% |
| Duels won | 81 |
| Defensive actions | 30 |
In forward areas, Emery has kept a similar feel to his side with Leon Bailey, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers starting behind Ollie Watkins. The latter missed one big chance against Cardiff and failed to score with five shots, something he will be keen to improve on against Club Brugge.
Rogers has come in from the start to replace Marco Asensio despite his two goals and 86 per cent pass accuracy at Villa Park.
Aston Villa must secure win v Club Brugge
On their day, the Villans can beat anyone at Villa Park with the atmosphere behind them and the quality of player at their disposal.
This was shown with the inspired performance against Bayern Munich earlier in the campaign.
With that being said, Emery and his side have struggled on a weekly basis against defensively sound sides, which is likely to be the case against Brugge.
As a result, Villa can’t afford to give the Belgians the chance to take a positive result back to B6 and give them the chance to sit back and be welcoming of a draw.
Travelling to face the Blue and Blacks, the away side need to secure a positive result to give themselves the best chance of an easier reverse fixture and a place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition.