Unai Emery will be looking to continue Aston Villa’s fine start to the season when they travel to Ipswich Town on Sunday.
It’s six wins from seven for Aston Villa in all competitions, the most recent being a 2-1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday, which secured their passage into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Unai Emery had the luxury of resting most of his first-team stars for that match, with the only survivor from the win over Wolves being Amadou Onana.
Villa’s big guns will now return for the trip to East Anglia this weekend, a clash they’ll expect to win against the newly promoted side, with Paul Merson predicting Aston Villa to beat Ipswich.
Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright also agree that Villa will secure an away win, and they aren’t the only ones.
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Chris Sutton issues prediction for Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
A trip to Portman Road this weekend has the potential to be a banana skin for Aston Villa.
Their Champions League home clash against Bayern Munich on Wednesday will be at the back of their minds, while Ipswich have threatened in every game and will be buoyed by their last-minute equaliser at Southampton.
Chris Sutton has been impressed by the home side but doesn’t think they’ll have enough to secure their first win of this season this weekend.
Predicting the match in his column for BBC Sport, Sutton thinks Villa will edge it 2-1: “Ipswich are still waiting for their first win of the season, but they have impressed me – and they have only lost to Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League so far.
“Kieran McKenna’s side left it late to score their equaliser against Southampton last week, and it is results like that which will boost their confidence.
“I don’t see them getting anything here, though. Aston Villa do concede goals and are already fighting on all fronts so this is a test of their squad.
“Ipswich will have a go and I think they will score, but again I think that Villa will have too much for them.”
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Unai Emery’s big decision vs Ipswich Town
Following the success in midweek with a fully rotated side, Emery will return to a full-strength starting XI against Ipswich but there are a few big selection calls to make.
The Spaniard could be without centre-back Diego Carlos – who withdrew from the squad on Tuesday due to discomfort – and that could see Kosta Nedeljkovic make his first Premier League start.
Nedeljkovic impressed in midweek, with the 18-year-old offering pace and energy down the right flank, the sort of attributes that are needed for Villa.
Emery could also keep Ezri Konsa at right back and play one of Lamare Bogarde or Sil Swinkels alongside Pau Torres in the centre of defence.
The most likely outcome, though, is Bogarde playing on the right side of defence with Pau and Konsa partnering centrally however, he should seriously consider starting Nedeljkovic.
