Aston Villa travel to face Arsenal on Wednesday evening and Philippe Coutinho could be dropped by Steven Gerrard after struggling for form of late.
The 30-year-old is without a goal or assist from five games across the board this season and was substituted in Villa’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham United after another a poor showing.
Gerrard said in his pre-match press conference that Coutinho had fatigue and cramp against West Ham but should be available to face Arsenal, though it remains to be seen if he’ll get the nod again.
Emiliano Buendia has looked much better in games than the Brazilian, so it might be time to give the former a chance to prove himself. Villa have scored one or less goals in three of their four Premier League games and Coutinho has fired blanks so far, so Gerrard must try something to save his job.
If he’s struggling with fatigue, it would be risky to start him in a second game in three days, so Coutinho might benefit from a rest. Arsenal are top of the table with maximum points after four games, so Villa can’t afford to not be 100% in all areas.
In other news, Cameron Archer can’t be happy with how the season is going
