Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is expected to make plenty of alterations to his starting XI for Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Southampton at St Mary’s.
The Lions head to the coast on the back of an agonising 3-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, and the French champions aim to finish the job at Villa Park on Tuesday evening in the return fixture.
To give his side the best possible chance of completing a terrific turnaround, Emery should shuffle the pack considerably, just as he did for last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest.
It would not be a shock to see Emery side with the exact same backline from that slender victory, as Tyrone Mings and Axel Disasi pair up at the back while Ian Maatsen and Andres Garcia operate out wide.
Amadou Onana could also force his way back into the midfield to give Boubacar Kamara a rest, but Youri Tielemans is unlikely to be afforded any respite, such is his importance to Emery’s system.
The Spaniard is not short of options for change up front, though, including Donyell Malen, who was left out of Villa’s UCL squad for the knockout rounds but will surely be given another opportunity to impress here.
Marco Asensio and Ollie Watkins could also return as Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford are spared, but Jacob Ramsey only completed 59 minutes of the PSG defeat and should be fine to reprise his role.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Garcia, Disasi, Mings, Maatsen; Onana, Tielemans; Malen, Asensio, Ramsey; Watkins
> Click here to see how Aston Villa could line up for this game
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