Aston Villa are back in action in front of their home fans on Friday night as Steven Gerrard’s side take on Southampton for their latest Premier League clash.
Last weekend’s match against Leicester City was postponed due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, meaning that Villa’s last outing was their 1-1 draw against league champions Manchester City nearly a fortnight ago.
A goal from Erling Haaland put the visitors ahead in that game, only for Leon Bailey to fire past Ederson and rescue a point for his team, staving off what would have been a fourth consecutive league defeat for the Villans.
In terms of what Gerrard’s starting XI could look like to take on the Saints, one man who didn’t start against City but ended up playing a big part in the game was Ashley Young, who we feel should be in from the beginning tomorrow night.
After 27 minutes against the Cityzens, Villa were dealt a blow when Matty Cash was forced off with a hamstring injury, which has precluded him from being involved in Poland’s upcoming UEFA Nations League matches.
With Cash being forced off early, Gerrard brought on Young as his replacement to fill in at right-back.
During his time on the pitch, the ex-Manchester United ace put in a solid defensive display by making four clearances and four tackles and winning six of his seven duels, which ultimately played a part in seeing Villa secure a point on the day.
This performance earned the £49.5k-per-week veteran – who has been called “outstanding” in the past by his manager – an impressive match rating of 7/10 from SofaScore, making him the second-highest rated Villa player to appear in the game.
With that in mind, the 37-year-old showed against Man City how capable he is of playing at right-back and why he’d be a solid pick for Gerrard, who certainly needs a player like Young to rely upon now that Cash is injured, to start on Friday.
