Aston Villa star has every right to be unhappy if Unai Emery doesn’t start him v Crystal Palace

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Aston Villa will be looking to put the disappointment of Bournemouth behind them by progressing into the next round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.

It will be interesting to see what type of XI Unai Emery puts out for the Crystal Palace match, especially with the fixture schedule and the added difficulty of having to juggle Champions League football.

For the first time in a long time, the League Cup drops down the pecking order of Aston Villa’s priority, even though it should be front and centre because the club hasn’t won a trophy in over two decades. 

When Aston Villa beat Wycombe last time out, the majority of the XI was changed, but that was against a League One team, so Emery could afford to do that. 

Even now, the likes of Jhon Duran, Leon Bailey, Ian Maatsen, Ross Barkley and Emi Buendia, to name a few, didn’t start Villa’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth from the weekend, so they could easily come into the XI.

And for Emery to have the power to bring that type of quality in, it just goes to show the depth he has at his disposal.

Still, it will be interesting to see how strong he goes, but whatever happens, he has to name one man in the XI.

Emi Buendia must start for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace

The 27-year-old is one of the most popular players at the club, but he has only played 20 minutes of Premier League football this term.

It needs to be noted that Emi Buendia has returned from a long-term injury, and before that, he was a regular starter under this manager.

But, for some odd reason, he isn’t even getting off the bench now, even if his quality is needed or if one of the starting players is underperforming.

That’s why it’s paramount that Buendia starts against Palace because, in his only start of the season, he was Villa’s best player against Wycombe.

Buendia’s game time at Villa this season

The form of Morgan Rogers at Villa has pushed him ahead of many players in the pecking order, including Buendia.

But the player himself will feel he’s probably not being given the chance to fight for that spot because he is hardly earning any valuable minutes.

When Villa drew 0-0 with Manchester United before the international break, Rogers was poor throughout, yet he didn’t get taken off and Buendia didn’t come onto the pitch.

As you can see below, transfermarkt proves his lack of minutes, with the EFL trophy, which was a U21 game, and the EFL Cup, the only time fans have properly seen him in action.