Aston Villa draw the curtain on their pre-season adventure with an away clash against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.
For Unai Emery and Aston Villa, it’s been a chequered pre-season in terms of results, beating Athletic Bilbao last time out but losing their three matches prior.
Now supporters will get a real taste of where their squad is currently at ahead of their clash against West Ham next weekend, with Villa facing Borussia Dortmund.
Having secured a late win against Bilbao, Emery will expect his players to take it up a notch on Saturday evening and put in a statement performance.
There are several who can hold their heads high in pre-season, namely young right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic, defender Lamare Bogarde and explosive attacker Morgan Rogers.
That trio will want to continue impressing in the final summer outing in an attempt to edge themselves into the squad against West Ham.
Aston Villa team news for Borussia Dortmund friendly
Crucial first-team stars Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez will be available for selection after returning from their extended breaks.
That trio did return to training at the start of the week, although the game against Bilbao came too soon and now they’ll be hoping to play an important part against Dortmund.
As for their injury list, there are no fresh concerns for Emery, who is still missing Boubacar Kamara as he recovers from his ACL injury.
Meanwhile, defender Tyrone Mings continues to work towards his return from a similar injury, though he isn’t expected to return to the fold till some point in September.
Aston Villa predicted XI vs Borussia Dortmund
Given this is Emery’s last chance to see his players in action before the season kicks off, the starting XI against Dortmund is likely to closely resemble the side that lines up against West Ham next weekend.
So, of course, that means World Cup-winning goalkeeper Martinez should return to the fold, replacing Joe Gauci, who has made a good account of himself in pre-season.
Ahead of him, Konsa could be thrown straight into the starting XI as a centre-back partnering Pau Torres with Matty Cash at right-back and Ian Maatsen on the opposite flank.
Youngster Nedeljkovic could arguably start ahead of Cash, though, with the Serbian performing better than this compatriot through pre-season.
The Belgian duo of Youri Tielemans and Onana should be Emery’s preferred pairing in midfield as they both offer a blend of physicality, tenacity and creativity.
Playing just ahead of them two should be Leon Bailey on the right, John McGinn in central attacking midfield and Jacob Ramsey on the left, who scored in the win against Bilbao.
That leaves just a striker to choose from, with who else but Watkins finally returning to the starting XI after his extended break.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, McGinn, Ramsey; Watkins.
