Aston Villa predicted XI vs Fulham – Unai Emery dumps Morgan Rogers for Harvey Elliott in five changes
Aston Villa will hope to build on their encouraging night against Bologna when they take on Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.
Unai Emery is under massive pressure at Villa Park, with the Villans having failed to win any of their opening five league games.
But there was some relief for the Spaniard when Villa narrowly beat Bologna 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Problems in attack and at the back appeared to persist, but Emery would have been glad to get over the line for the first time this season.
Attention will now turn to the Premier League, where Villa will hope to repeat the trick.
Unai Emery to drop Morgan Rogers vs Fulham
Villa fans sarcastically cheered Morgan Rogers for completing a pass against Bologna after what was another terrible night for the 23-year-old, who has looked a shadow of his former self this season.
The England international was again in shocking form, losing the most duels of any player on the pitch.
Harvey Elliott impressed against Bologna, and would appear best placed to start instead should Rogers be dropped.
Ollie Watkins missed a penalty on the night, but is expected to reclaim his position through the middle as his manager attempts to play him into form.
| Morgan Rogers | Vs Bologna (A) |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 10/24 (42%) |
| Dribbled past | 2 |
| Successful dribbles | 0/2 |
| Shots | 1 |
| Duels won | 5/17 |
Donyell Malen played just 58 minutes and could be shifted to the right of the attack, whilst Jadon Sancho could be handed his full Premier League debut for Villa.
John McGinn got the all-important goal and will likely keep his place alongside Boubacar Kamara, whilst Tyrone Mings could come back into the defence.
Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana are expected to return in the coming games, but will likely be slowly reintroduced.
Emi Martinez was missing against Bologna with a minor issue, but is expected to return to the starting line-up against Fulham.
Changes to shake things up vs Fulham
So far this season, Emery has persisted with Rogers, hoping the midfielder will kick back into life and start to recreate his form from last season.
But it is time for the Spaniard to realise that maintaining such loyalties will cost him his job – the time for niceties is over.
Emery must be cut-throat to give his team a chance of turning around their season, and when a player is clearly dragging the team down, as Rogers currently is, there is no option but to look elsewhere.
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