Nicolas Jackson and Zion Suzuki will make their Aston Villa debuts against Arsenal tonight after Unai Emery made two major changes for the Premier League clash at Villa Park.
Jackson goes straight into the starting XI following his club-record move from Chelsea, while £30million goalkeeper Suzuki replaces Marco Bizot between the posts.
The decisions come after Villa opened their Premier League season with a damaging 4-0 defeat at Brighton.
Jackson’s inclusion had been expected after the striker was registered in time to face Arsenal, but Emery has now immediately handed him responsibility for leading Villa’s rebuilt attack.
Suzuki also gets his opportunity after starting the Brighton defeat on the bench. His selection makes him the first Japanese goalkeeper to play in the Premier League, having joined Villa permanently from Parma earlier this month.
Aston Villa make double debut call against Arsenal
Villa line up with Suzuki behind a defence of Matty Cash, Victor Lindelöf, Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen.
Boubacar Kamara starts alongside Ross Barkley, with captain John McGinn, Emiliano Buendía and George Hemmings supporting Jackson.
It means our predicted Aston Villa XI against Arsenal correctly called starts for both Suzuki and Jackson, although Emery has kept Hemmings in the side.
One particularly notable absence is Leon Goretzka.
The summer signing does not feature in the starting XI or among Villa’s substitutes, despite being in contention to make his debut before the game.
Alejandro Garnacho, Matteo Ruggeri, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tammy Abraham are among the attacking and defensive options on the bench.
Villa need a response against the defending champions after their difficult opening weekend. Arsenal had been given a heavy statistical advantage before kick-off, with Opta handing Villa only a 16.2% chance of victory.
Aston Villa XI: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelöf, Pau Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Barkley; McGinn, Buendía, Hemmings; Jackson.
Substitutes: Bizot, Mings, Ruggeri, Garnacho, Abraham, Bogarde, Wan-Bissaka, Alysson, Lynn.
Kick-off at Villa Park is at 20:00 BST.
