Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 11 May 2026 14:17, UK

Matty Cash’s place in Unai Emery‘s Aston Villa team will come under threat if he puts in many more performances such as the one he did against Burnley.

The 28-year-old right-back is now coming towards the end of his sixth season as an Aston Villa player, having signed from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2020.

He’s undoubtedly been an excellent player for Villa over the years, and has established himself as one of the better right-backs in the Premier League.

As such, it’s always a surprise when the Polish international doesn’t perform well, as he’s typically been one of the more consistent members of the Villans’ squad during his time at Villa Park.

However, in Villa’s 2-2 draw with Burnley on Sunday, Cash put in a display that he will want to forget in a hurry, but one that could also set alarm bells ringing in Emery’s ears.

How did Matty Cash perform in Burnley vs Aston Villa?

Cash’s battle with Jaidon Anthony was always going to be a key element of Aston Villa’s clash with Burnley.

Anthony has been one of Burnley’s best players this season, scoring eight times and providing two assists from 35 Premier League appearances, which is a very respectable return given the Clarets’ struggles in the league.

The 26-year-old left-winger was a constant threat all afternoon on Sunday, and he certainly came out the victor in that aforementioned battle with Cash.

Indeed, it was Cash that Anthony was able to rob the ball of cheaply for Burnley’s equaliser, as he the Villa defender tried to cut inside back towards the box but was dispossessed.

Some nice link-up play between the Clarets forwards eventually saw the ball laid off for Zian Flemming, who slammed the ball past Emi Martinez for 2-2.

That proved to be a costly error from Cash, and his all-round performance didn’t do anything in the way of forgiveness for it either.

As per FotMob, he made zero tackles, committed one foul, was dispossessed twice, neither won nor contested a single aerial duel and won just one of his six ground duels respectively.

Cash was accurate with just two of his 11 crosses, took one touch in the Burnley box, took zero shots on goal and made that one error leading to a goal as well.

Emery has tough Cash selection dilemma now

Having started all 33 of his Premier League appearances this season, Cash may well be starting to feel the effect of a long campaign now.

General match fatigue could be starting to seep into his performances, as his display against Burnley was particularly poor for his standards, and was out of character after two strong outings previously against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

Emery now has a tough call on his hands regarding whether or not he starts him against Liverpool, as Villa haven’t yet wrapped up their top five finish in the Premier League, but it would take a minor miracle for them not to.

So, does the Spaniard rest him and perhaps go with Lamare Bogarde at right-back against Liverpool, keeping Cash as energised as possible for the Europa League final against Freiburg on 20 May?

Or, does he press on with Cash in the starting lineup against the Reds on Friday night, in the attempt to field his strongest team to make sure of Champions League football through the league before their trip to Istanbul?