Lucas Digne axed in six Unai Emery changes – Aston Villa predicted XI vs Leeds
Unai Emery could make up to six changes to his Aston Villa side against Leeds United on Saturday.
Aston Villa crashed out of the FA Cup with a defeat to Newcastle last time out, but have the chance to make it right immediately at Villa Park.
Emery‘s side are still third in the Premier League and have an eight-point cushion over sixth-placed Liverpool, as they look to secure Champions League football again.
If they want to qualify for that, though, they can’t afford to drop points against Leeds, which means that Lucas Digne could be dropped in order to provide more defensive stability.
Ian Maatsen to come in for Lucas Digne in six changes
The French left-back featured in Villa’s loss to Newcastle and was perhaps fortunate to avoid a red card for a rash challenge on Jacob Murphy.
He also gave away the controversial free-kick, which should have been a penalty, that led to Sandro Tonali’s opening goal.
According to Sofascore, he has only won 54.3 per cent of his ground duels in the Premier League this season, and Jayden Bogle would cause him some serious problems down that side.
| Stat | Digne |
| Appearances | 23 |
| Ground duels won | 54.3% |
| Aerial duels won | 55% |
| Pass accuracy | 79.6% |
Although Digne provides a high level of attacking output, Ian Maatsen’s energy will be much more important against the Whites.
Tammy Abraham, Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey are all expected to make way for Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia and Jadon Sancho.
In defence, not only will Maatsen replace Digne, but Ezri Konsa is expected to return at the expense of Victor Lindelof.
The final change would see Emi Martinez come back in for the suspended Marco Bizot.
Villa may have won the reverse fixture 2-1 on 23 November, but Daniel Farke’s side has vastly improved ever since that result.
Douglas Luiz and Amadou Onana need to maintain control in midfield
Leeds currently use a 3-5-2 formation, which has worked to great effect.
Since the start of December, the Whites have only lost two games in all competitions, and they have secured brilliant draws away from home against Chelsea and Liverpool in that time.
Leeds will have plenty of bodies in the centre of the pitch, which means that Douglas Luiz and Andre Onana can’t afford to be caught on the ball.
If they can be calm under pressure, then there should be plenty of space out wide that the Brummies can exploit for the likes of Morgan Rogers.
It will prove to be a great tactical battle at Villa Park, but Emery’s side should feel confident of securing all three points if both midfielders are at the top of their game.
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