da brdice： Aston Villa are back in action in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, as Unai Emery’s side welcome Fulham to Villa Park on match day 12 of the 2023/24 season.
da aposte e ganhe： The Villans will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the league, and after securing three valuable points in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, the Midlands club will bid to get their form rolling once more.
Emery made four changes to the squad that lost to Nottingham Forest in the league to face AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League, with a similar rotation expected ahead of Sunday’s clash.
Here is Villa's predicted lineup vs Fulham and those three alterations from the midweek triumph…
1 GK – Emiliano Martinez
Holder of the 2023 Yashin Trophy, World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez will remain between the sticks for Villa against Fulham. The 31-year-old had a shaky performance during the defeat to Forest, however his quality outside of the mishap is irreplaceable.
2 LB – Lucas Digne
Despite the return of Alex Moreno from injury, Lucas Digne started against AZ and was a continual threat down the left side thanks to his dynamic progressive ability.
Although the Frenchman displays his defensive frailties due to his direct nature when getting forward at full-back, highlighted by him losing possession 20 times vs Forest, his presence down the flank is hard to replace.
No player in the Villa squad averages a higher rate of key passes per game than Digne this season, with the former Everton ace recording an average of two per game in the 2023/24 Premier League, via WhoScored.
3 CB – Pau Torres
Summer capture Pau Torres will almost certainly reclaim his spot in central defence following the rotation mid-week. The Spaniard was forced into action in the dying embers against AZ to replace Diego Carlos.
The Brazilian was forced to withdraw due to a minor injury, making Torres' claim to start against Fulham undeniable.
4 CB – Ezri Konsa
Against AZ, Ezri Konsa assumed the right-back position in place of Matty Cash, and is likely to rejoin forces with Torres in central defence as he has done in the Premier League this term.
With an average pass completion rate of 93.3% per game, only Tyrone Mings – who has played just 31 minutes of the season – tops the charts at Villa in that area, reinforcing Konsa’s reliability at the back.
Clement Lenglet will be the player to make way for Konsa’s return to central defence, after starting against AZ alongside Carlos on Thursday.
5 RB – Matty Cash
During his pre-match press conference ahead of the AZ clash, Emery revealed that Cash had recovered from a small injury he sustained against Forest last weekend.
The 26-year-old is expected to be restored to the starting XI after starting on the bench in midweek, adding a host of attacking threat to the final third at right-back.
6 CM – Douglas Luiz
Douglas Luiz also started on the bench in midweek, yet the reported Arsenal target will seemingly make his return to the XI to face Fulham.
The £75k-per-week Brazilian was lauded for his “magic” moment to assist Ollie Watkins’ winning goal vs AZ on Thursday by journalist John Townley, with his place in the squad irreplaceable as his magnificent form continues.
7 CM – Youri Tielemans
Pairing Luiz is typically Boubacar Kamara, yet the latter man did not enjoy his best outing in Europe this week, notably missing a gilt-edged chance to score and losing possession on ten occasions.
As such, Youri Tielemans could well keep his place in the centre of the park following an 'encouraging display' last time out, as per BirminghamLive's Townley, with the aim now for the summer signing to cement his place in the side moving forward.
8 RW – John McGinn
One of the most reliable players in Emery’s side is club captain, John McGinn, who will continue to occupy the left side in the Spaniard’s free-flowing midfield four.
To portray his consistency of high performances, the Scotsman hasn’t received a Sofascore match rating lower than 7.1 in the Premier League since September, cementing himself as a well-rounded player in the squad.
With two goals and two assists to his name already this season, the 29-year-old could be one to watch against the Cottagers due to his ability to cover significant ground and pop up in unexpected areas to help his team.
9 LW – Leon Bailey
Leon Bailey’s assist against AZ this week took his contribution to goals to five in his last five games for Villa, surely warranting him a starting spot in the Premier League over Nicolo Zaniolo.
The Jamaican has only started two league games so far this campaign, scoring three goals and claiming two assists, with the Italian still waiting to contribute in the final third to strengthen Bailey’s claim to start against Marco Silva's side.
10 ST – Moussa Diaby
Making up one-half of the strike partnership is Moussa Diaby, who started his first Conference League game of the season against AZ.
The forward has impressed since arriving in the Midlands from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer transfer window, forming an electrifying partnership with Watkins to see his playmaking and clinical streak in front of goal exploited.
With three goals and three assists so far in the league, the Frenchman will be one for Fulham to revise thoroughly, with only Digne averaging more key passes than the 24-year-old with 1.9 per game, via WhoScored.