Unai Emery confirms early Aston Villa team news vs Sunderland as key player returns
Aston Villa are preparing to play Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
The Villans are coming into the fixture on the back of a disappointing exit from the Carabao Cup against Brentford, with pressure growing on them to get a result.
The Bees equalised through Aaron Hickey after Harvey Elliott opened the scoring for Aston Villa, and went on to win the game 4-2 on penalties.
Unai Emery’s side will be hoping to bounce back against Sunderland, who have gotten off to a strong start in their first Premier League campaign in eight years.
Despite a poor start, the Spaniard has remained positive and has spoken out about the current state of his squad in the Midlands.
Unai Emery shares team news ahead Sunderland clash
The Villans remain the only side in England’s top seven divisions yet to score a league goal.
Aston Villa’s 0-0 draw with Everton at the weekend was more promising, but they still need to start clicking up front.
Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins have yet to combine in attack, which has proved costly.
Rogers continues to attract interest from Premier League clubs, so it isn’t a surprise that his mind appears to have been elsewhere in recent weeks.
- Boubacar Kamara was a surprise inclusion in the squad vs Brentford
- Ross Barkley has been dealing with a personal matter in recent weeks
- Amadou Onana picked up a hamstring injury at the end of August
The inability to connect between the defence and attack has also been an issue for Emery in recent weeks, which hasn’t been helped by injuries.
The Spaniard confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley, and Youri Tielemans will all be absent for the clash with Sunderland.
Tielemans picked up an injury against Everton and was substituted at half-time.
Meanwhile, Emery confirmed that Victor Lindelof had trained with the squad and will be in the squad should he not pick up an injury in training tomorrow.
Victor Lindelof to return to squad vs Sunderland
Lindelof was a notable absentee in the squad to face Brentford during the week.
The defender has featured in the matchday squad just once since signing for Aston Villa as a free agent at the start of the month.
After picking up a knock in training, it is positive that it hasn’t proved longer-term and he could be back involved against the Mackems.
Worries did first emerge about the Sweden international’s fitness when he wasn’t picked up by any other club in the summer, and supporters will be keeping a close eye on any injuries he picks up.
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