Aston Villa were dealt an injury blow during the recent international break as Lucas Digne was forced to withdraw from the France squad due to an ankle problem.
With the Villans set to take on Leeds United this Sunday, former Villa attacker Gabby Agbonlahor has shared his views about how Steven Gerrard could address the issue of the 29-year-old’s potential absence while still having Matty Cash ruled out.
Agbonlahor drops team news hint
Speaking to Football Insider, the talkSPORT pundit said of Gerrard’s possible team selection: “I think he might look at Ashley Young at left-back, [Calum] Chambers at right-back with [Ezri] Konsa and [Tyrone] Mings in the middle. I think that’s the best available defence.
“They’ve got enough cover there, Aston Villa. That’s why you have big squads, so you are not hurt when you’ve got injuries like this. Aston Villa will be fine whilst Cash and Digne are out.”
Gerrard faces big decisions
Focusing on the left-back role, while Agbonlahor has tipped Gerrard to select Young for that position, another potential option for the Villa boss is to give summer signing Ludwig Augustinsson his first Premier League appearance of the campaign.
Having arrived on a season-long loan from Sevilla in July, the Sweden international has been an unused substitute for all seven of Villa’s league games so far this term.
With Young featuring as a left-back on nine occasions in the league for Villa last season, the 37-year-old certainly has the experience of doing a job for the team in that role.
However, with Augustinsson yet to make an appearance for his current club in the Premier League, he would presumably be chomping at the bit to show Gerrard what he’s capable of doing and may see the injury situation with Digne as a great opportunity to do just that.
Taking all this into account, with the Leeds match looming, it’s safe to say that the Villa manager has some big decisions to make in terms of his team selection at Elland Road this coming weekend.
