Morgan Rogers faces last chance under Unai Emery in crunch Aston Villa vs Bologna clash
Aston Villa will hope to get their Europa League campaign off to the perfect start when they face Bologna on the first matchday.
Villa have been woeful in the Premier League, netting just one goal in five games and failing to win, while they are also out of the Carabao Cup.
Unai Emery is facing his biggest challenge yet as he aims to get Aston Villa firing again, but has several underperformers in his side.
Morgan Rogers is one of them, and there are growing concerns over the England International, who has been one of Villa’s most disappointing players.
Morgan Rogers needs to step up against Bologna
Bologna finished ninth in Serie A last season but won the Coppa Italia, and Villa will hope for a convincing home win to kick off their Europa League campaign.
Emery may be tempted to drop Rogers from his starting lineup given his poor form, as he looks to find a solution to Villa’s attacking problems.
- Rogers was particularly poor against Sunderland, completing just 9 per cent of his attempted dribbles.
- The attacking midfielder also won just one of his eight attempted ground duels, a success rate of 13 per cent.
- The 23-year-old was Villa’s best player last season, with 30 goals and assists in 54 games across all competitions.
- Emery may be tempted to start Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott instead.
If Rogers does start against Bologna, he has to be the one to step up and get Villa firing again.
While there have been other underperformers, Rogers’ drop-off in form has been the most stark considering the heights he hit last season.
Unai Emery running out of solutions
The departure of Monchi, and the subsequent eagerness to recruit Roberto Olabe as a new sporting director, highlights the problems that Emery faced in the summer transfer window.
Marcos Asensio and Marcus Rashford both departed after their loans, and funds were short to replace the two experienced attacking players.
This has put more pressure on Rogers to step up while Sancho, Elliott and Evann Guessand settle at Villa Park, but he has been well below par.
Emery will need to get Rogers firing again, or he will need to hope that one of the new signings can take his place and provide a creative spark for Villa.
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