Aston Villa are welcoming Liverpool in a vital game at home on Friday to seal the Champions League berth sooner rather than later.
Aston Villa are in a dilemma ahead of the crucial game against Liverpool due to their important fixture just four days after this Premier League clash. They have the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, their first European final in 44 years.
The Lions wasted another opportunity to seal the UCL spot last weekend as they only shared the spoils while visiting Burnley, their weakest opposition among all in their remaining games. It was their series of disappointing results after losing to Fulham and Spurs consecutively. They were supposed to be able to secure it earlier, but now John McGinn and Co. have to pay the price of their mistakes.
Villa are not sitting fifth with 59 points, collecting the same points as the Reds on the fourth, but Arne Slot’s men have a better goal difference. Should they fail to win again or, even worse, suffer another defeat at home, Unai Emery’s men can only hope their closest contenders, Bournemouth and Brighton, slip too.
They sit sixth and seventh, with 55 and 53 points, respectively. The Cherries and the Seagulls face off against Manchester City and Leeds, respectively, this weekend.
The former could potentially stumble Pep Guardiola’s men, but The Citizens are still alive in the title race and would strive to go home with maximum points. Meanwhile, the latter takes on Daniel Farke’s men on the road. Brighton might have a chance to snatch a win since The Whites’ position is relatively safe from relegation.
No wonder that Villa’s pressure is mounting. Emery can only rely on his instinct for how he decides in this last home game of the season.
Emery’s men are still without Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana. There is a hope that the latter could be fielded from the latest update. Yet, the Spanish boss plays it down in the interview, as reported by Birmingham Mail.
“Firstly, the doctor told us it is more or less two or three weeks. It is maybe the final of the Europa League or the final against Liverpool on Friday. We are going to be working with Lindelof in this position; we are working hard with Bogarde in this position.”
“We do not have Kamara, who, of course, is very important for us. But I am positive about the players we have. In case someone is not available, we will find solutions, like we always did.”
However, Villa should be quite relieved, as The Reds would be without nine players, including several key men in Arne Slot’s side such as Florian Wirtz, Hugo Eketike, Alisson Becker, Mo Salah, Wataru Endo and Ibrahim Konaté. The other three are youngsters such as Giovanni Leoni, Jayden Danns and Conor Bradley. This could be an advantage for Emery’s men, although it might be only a slim one.
Considering the importance of both matches, Emery would still be rotating the squad but not entirely. Some first-choice names like Matty Cash, Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia might be rested first for this match. The Spanish boss would have to optimise the whole squad for the upcoming two games. It would be too risky to field the winning team. In the starting XI, Emi Martinez would still get a nod between the sticks, while Ezri Konsa would be playing alongside Tyron Mings at the centre of the defence.
Meanwhile, on both flanks, Emery has no choice but to deploy Andres Garcia and Ian Maatsen as the wingbacks. In the midfield, Ross Barkley would definitely feature alongside Victor Lindelof as the double pivot. However, the Swede might only play for the first half. Lamare Bogarde would appear in the second half.
Meanwhile, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn would still be operating on both wings, while Douglas Luiz, despite not being Emery’s favourite this season, might get a chance to play from the first minute to support Ollie Watkins. In the second half, apart from Bogarde, Tammy Abraham and Jadon Sancho or even Harvey Elliott could come off the bench.
The Aston Villa v Liverpool encounter will be available on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Go Extra, and Sky Go UK on TV as well as live streaming. The fans can also enjoy this game on NOW TV.
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