Unai Emery to give summer signing final chance before January exit – Aston Villa predicted XI vs Basel
Aston Villa face Basel in the Europa League on Thursday as they look to continue their good form in the competition.
Unai Emery’s side sit third in the table with 12 points from five games, and are well-placed to progress straight through to the last 16 stage.
On Saturday, Emi Buendia scored a last-minute winner as Aston Villa beat Arsenal 2-1, so the Midlands giants should be full of confidence for their visit to the Swiss side.
Basel have not lost a Europa League game at home since 2015, but Villa will be hoping that they can end that longstanding record on 11 December.
Unai Emery to ring the Aston Villa changes
After a dramatic and tiring win over Arsenal, Emery could see the Europa League as a chance to rest some of his key players ahead of a busy Christmas period.
Ian Maatsen has become first-choice left-back in recent weeks, leaving Lucas Digne on the bench, but the Frenchman should come back in for the Basel game.
Digne offers a similar attacking threat with three assists already in the Premier League, with 1.2 of his crosses finding their target per 90 minutes, via Sofascore.
Matty Cash was superb against Arsenal and will likely get a night off on Thursday, with Victor Lindelof replacing him in a makeshift role.
In the middle, Emery has been giving Lamare Bogarde starts in the Europa League, allowing the likes of Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans to have a rest.
Evann Guessand and Jadon Sancho should get their standard European spots on the wings, while Donyell Malen will likely replace Ollie Watkins up top.
The Dutchman was superb against Young Boys, scoring twice from an expected goals total of only 0.35, completing all of his dribbles and also making three recoveries.
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Evann Guessand linked with January exit
Guessand has infuriated boss Emery at times, following his summer move from Nice for an initial fee of £26million.
The 24-year-old has failed to hit his stride since joining the Midlands outfit, and there are now question marks over his immediate future at the club, with the possibility of an exit next month already.
So far this season, Guessand has been poor on the ball, completing just 32 per cent of his dribbles and winning only 43 per cent of his duels in the Premier League.
| Stats (Premier League) | Evann Guessand |
| Goals | 0 |
| Big chances missed | 3 |
| Dribble success rate | 32% |
| Duel success rate | 43% |
In front of goal, his problems have continued, with the Ivorian yet to score in the top-flight and missing three big chances already this term.
Guessand did manage to find the back of the net in the Europa League defeat to Go Ahead Eagles, and will hope to add to his tally in the competition against Basel.
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