It’s going to be interesting to see how Unai Emery rotates his Aston Villa players ahead of a very crucial week for the club.
It all starts with a monstrous showdown against Ajax for the first leg of the Europa Conference League knockout round on Thursday night.
Then it’s an all-important top-four clash against Tottenham, followed by the second leg and then a trip to West Ham United.
This is where rotation needs to happen and Unai Emery needs to begin by starting Lucas Digne for Aston Villa‘s trip to Ajax.
The £25 million signing did wonders and scored a very crucial winning goal very late on against Luton Town on Saturday.
Alex Moreno started the game pretty well, but in the second half, when the hosts turned it up, you felt he could have done more, from a defensive aspect, to protect his own side.
Either way, Lucas Digne now deserves to earn his spot back, after he began the season in a very strong fashion when his teammate was on the sidelines.
And if the manager wishes, he can then rotate again and bring back Alex Moreno for the Spurs game because they will look to pounce on our tired legs.
Defence needs to step up
Look, it’s annoying the number of injuries we have suffered this season, especially to the defensive players.
Tyrone Mings has been out all season, Moreno missed four months, Digne was out for a period, Pau Torres was also out for two months, Ezri Konsa has just returned, Boubacar Kamara also suffered an ACL, whilst Diego Carlos is currently sidelined.
All of this has proven to hurt the team and it’s remarkable that we have managed to fight like we have done on all fronts.
But the manner in which we are defending set-plays is a worry, as well as letting leads slip.
If the team can show more resilience in defence, then there is no reason why we don’t beat Ajax, but also secure that top-four finish in May.
