- Unai Emery has revealed his starting XI ahead of this afternoon’s fixture against Nottingham Forest
- There are two changes from the side that beat Bologna on Thursday night
- Tyrone Mings is not included in the squad
Aston Villa take on Nottingham Forest today for matchday 32 of the Premier League. Both teams are in huge battles at either end of the table.
Aston Villa are looking to complete the league double of the Reds for the first time since 2017-18, and for the first time in the top-flight since 1992-93.
Forest has been struggling at The City Ground this season. They are winless in their last seven games at home, and have failed to score in their last three. In their previous outing, they drew 1-1 with Porto in the first leg of the Europa League quarter final.
Unai Emery makes two changes from the team that defeated Bologna 3-1 in their first leg of the Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night. Let’s take a look at the key details.
Ezri Konsa moved to the bench
The biggest talking point from the line-up is that Victor Lindelöf starts ahead of Ezri Konsa, who is named on the bench. It is the Swede’s first league start since January.
He has been a consistent performer for Unai Emery this season when called upon, appearing 21 times, although this decision will come as a surprise for many supporters.
Konsa has played every minute of the Premier League since missing the second game of the season at Brentford due to suspension.
Ahead of the match on Sky Sports, Emery stated that the Englishman has been given a rest due to the huge number of games he has recently played, and Lindelöf has been in good form.
Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley start
Another surprise is that Youri Tielemans is named once again in the starting XI. The Belgian has only just returned from injury and played the full 90 minutes on Thursday night. Emery must believe he is fit enough to play two games consecutively already.
He improves the quality of the squad drastically and has been dearly missed throughout his eight-week spell on the sidelines, so he will no doubt give the team a massive boost.
Ross Barkley keeps his place in Villa’s Premier League XI, having not been named in their Europa League squad for the rest of the campaign.
The 32-year-old has been in good form recently, picking up a goal against Manchester United last month. It’s his third league start in a row.
No Tyrone Mings or Jadon Sancho
Tyrone Mings has not been named in the matchday squad at all, meaning he has likely picked up an injury.
The centre-back hasn’t featured at all in the last three games, but has been among the substitutes.
Jadon Sancho was due to be assessed on Saturday, so he was obviously not cleared for a return to the team. The winger has been increasing in confidence in recent games and has been a real threat on the right-hand side.
He will be hoping to get back soon to finish the season strongly, before he decides on his next club in the summer. The Manchester United loanee’s contract at Old Trafford is due to expire in June, allowing him to leave the club on a free transfer.
Last-minute drop out for Martínez
With just 15 minutes before kick-off, Emiliano Martínez has had to drop out of the line-up. Marco Bizot replaces him with youngster James Wright, now named on the bench.
Bizot hasn’t played since Villa’s 3-1 defeat to Newcastle in the FA Cup on February 14th. He came on at half-time for the Argentinian due to an injury.
It will be his thirteenth appearance of the season, and his sixth in the league. Having signed in the summer, the Dutchman has been a solid back-up, performing especially well in the Europa League. With another last-minute drop out by Martínez, the 35-year-old will have to quickly get up to speed.
The inclusion of Victor Lindelöf and the return of Youri Tielemans provide much-needed top-flight experience, but all eyes will inevitably be on Marco Bizot.
Thrust into the spotlight with zero notice, the Dutchman’s performance could be the difference between Villa clinching a historic top-flight double or Forest finding the spark to ignite their survival bid.
As the Reds look to break their scoreless drought at the City Ground and Villa aim to cement their European credentials, the stage is set for a high-stakes encounter.
Can Emery’s side overcome the late drama and the absence of stalwarts like Mings and Konsa, or will the last-minute nature of the preparations prove a bridge too far?
