Unai Emery gets it wrong with Evann Guessand decision as Aston Villa starting XI vs West Ham revealed
Aston Villa have named their starting XI to face West Ham on Sunday.
West Ham are playing host to Villa in the Premier League, with both sides in contrasting form going into the London Stadium clash
Unai Emery’s side are coming off the back of a Europa League win in mid-week as Villa secured a 2-1 win against Basel.
Evann Guessand scored away to Basel and got the Villans on the right track to victory as he grabbed yet another goal on the continent.
This left the Villa Park outfit with a question over Guessand as the starting XI is named to face off against West Ham in East London.
Aston Villa name starting 11 to face West Ham
Marco Bizot started in goal away in Switzerland, while Victor Lindelof featured for Villa against Basel to help their side to three points.
The duo will start once again, with Emi Martinez and Pau Torres both absent from the starting XI against the Hammers.
The Argentine made seven saves against Arsenal, so missing him will be a blow for Ian Maatsen, Ezri Konsa, and Matty Cash in the backline.
The midfield sees changes, with Lamare Bogarde dropping out despite his 92 per cent pass accuracy last time out, and Boubacar Kamara returning from the start.
Amadou Onana has kept his place after coming off in Basel with over 25 minutes remaining in the Europa League clash.
Evann Guessand could have shone vs West Ham
Guessand was poor for Villa against Basel, despite getting on the scoresheet, as he had the fewest touches of any outfield player to play 90 minutes, with 42.
He also maintained a zero per cent dribble success rate, while being dispossessed once, summing up his night.
That said, he could have benefited from minutes against a lesser Premier League side with the hope of building his confidence in front of goal, something which Emery may regret deciding against.
The Spaniard has instead opted to stand by Morgan Rogers and John McGinn, with the Ivorian and Jadon Sancho falling to the bench.
Youri Tielemans has returned to the side to replace Emi Buendia in a similar fashion to Ollie Watkins, who has come back in for Donyell Malen.
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