Aston Villa team news vs Fulham: Unai Emery’s Emi Martinez ‘injury’ admission as midfielders ruled out
Unai Emery has provided an update on the fitness of several players ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Fulham.
Aston Villa are favourites for the Fulham clash, after winning their first game of the season against Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday.
But Emery remains under huge pressure at Villa, with his side sitting 18th in the Premier League after five games played.
Anything other than victory on Sunday will only work to increase that pressure, with a run of games against Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool rapidly approaching.
Emery is expected to drop Morgan Rogers against Fulham, after the midfielder endured another tough night on Thursday.
Unai Emery rules out key midfielders vs Fulham
John McGinn made history against Bologna, by becoming the first Villa player to score in all three European competitions.
The midfielder’s goal was brilliantly struck, half-volleying into the bottom corner from outside the box after Rogers had missed the ball with his effort.
And the Scot is set to keep his place in midfield alongside Boubacar Kamara for the visit of Fulham, with Emery confirming on Friday that Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley are still injured.
| Vs Bologna (H) | John McGinn | Boubacar Kamara |
| Minutes played | 90 | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 22 | 34 |
| Recoveries | 5 | 5 |
| Tackles | 0 | 3 |
| Passes into final third | 3 | 2 |
| Duels won | 2 | 12 |
Tielemans had been expected to return quickly following his substitution against Everton, but the Belgian remains injured.
Emery has also confirmed that Emi Martinez has a good chance of returning against Fulham, the Spaniard describing the issue that kept the goalkeeper out of Thursday’s game as a “small injury”.
Marco Bizot impressed again against Bologna, making an impressive diving save to keep Villa ahead in the final seconds, but Martinez will be preferred if he is available.
Aston Villa miss Youri Tielemans
Whilst the pairing of McGinn and Kamara excelled on Thursday, Villa undoubtedly miss the calm presence of Tielemans.
The midfielder appeared in all but two of the Villans’ Premier League fixtures last season, and was often the man to drive Emery’s side forward.
Without the Belgian, Villa can often struggle to build up, and are undoubtedly more vulnerable to the intensive pressing Fulham will likely deploy.
Tielemans’ absence is another problem for Emery to solve, with the Spaniard seeming to be buried in them.
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