- Unai Emery has made four changes for Aston Villa’s trip to Craven Cottage
- Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Lamare Bogarde and Emi Buendia return to the starting XI
- Amadou Onana misses out completely
- Marco Silva makes three changes for Fulham
Aston Villa have made four changes for their clash with Fulham on Saturday. The biggest concern is Amadou Onana is not included in the squad.
Four changes for Villa: Torres, Digne, Bogarde and Buendia return
Unai Emery has made four changes from the side that beat Sunderland 4-3 last weekend.
Pau Torres partners Ezri Konsa at the heart of the defence, after being rested last week. Lucas Digne also starts ahead of Ian Maatsen at left-back; the Frenchman was subbed on against Sunderland, picking up the assist for the winner.
Ross Barkley makes way for Emi Buendía , after a run of four starts in the Premier League. This change gives Emery the flexibility to shift Morgan Rogers inside to the No 10 or keep him on the left flank.
Finally, Lamare Bogarde makes his first start in the league since the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on March 15th, with Amadou Onana missing out through injury.
Emery has made sure his players are fully focused on the task of securing Champions League football. They need two just more wins to mathematically confirm their place.
Amadou Onana absence
The Belgian’s absence is the most notable change. He’s started the last nine league games for Villa and has been their enforcer, which they will miss against the strong side of Fulham.
Surprisingly, it is Bogarde who replaces him, and not Douglas Luiz. Emery must believe that Bogarde is better equipped than the Brazilian, who was signed in January on loan for midfield reinforcements.
It will be the 22-year-old’s first midfield start since January, having been utilised as Matty Cash’s backup at right-back for the majority of the year. He certainly has a big task ahead of him to fill the gap Onana’s absence leaves.
Full Aston Villa starting XI
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Bogarde, Tielemans, McGinn, Buendía , Rogers, Watkins
Subs: Bizot, Lindelöf, Mings, Barkley, Abraham, Sancho, Luiz, Maatsen, Bailey
Fulham make three changes
Marcos Silva has made three changes from his side’s 0-0 draw with Brentford last weekend. His team gas failed to score in four of their last five league matches.
Raul Jiménez leads the line once again, replacing Rodrigo Muniz.
Alex Iwobi is injured, meaning Samuel Chukwueze comes in. Finally, Sasa Lukic starts in central midfield, with Tom Cairney dropping to the bench.
Fulham XI: Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Lukic, Berge, Wilson, Smith Rowe, Jiménez
Subs: Lecomte, Robinson, Diop, Reed, King, Cairney, Kusi-Asare, Bobb, Muniz
