Pre-season has given Unai Emery a lot to think about ahead of Aston Villa’s Premier League opener against West Ham.
On Saturday afternoon, Aston Villa lost their fourth game of pre-season with a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.
Unai Emery’s side suffered at the hands of two defensive mishaps involving Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa, handing the German outfit the win to round off the summer of non-competitive action.
With the Premier League opener against West Ham now less than a week away, the manager has several decisions to make regarding selection at the London Stadium.
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How Aston Villa could line up against West Ham
From Villa’s seven pre-season fixtures, the Champions League side have won on only three occasions, with victories coming against Walsall, Spartak Trnava and Athletic Bilbao.
There were both positives and negatives to take from each friendly, with the feedback provided there to help Emery make a decision about his starting XI to commence the 2024/25 campaign.
Based on Villa’s pre-season action and the squad as it stands, here is how Villa could best line up against the Hammers.
No competition for Emi Martinez in goal
In Emi Martinez’s absence due to his involvement at Copa America, Joe Gauci, Robin Olsen and Oliwier Zych had the chance to impress between the sticks.
Unfortunately, the consensus was clear, being that none of Villa’s ‘keepers are anywhere near the level of Martinez, who will undoubtedly start the season in goal against West Ham.
Key changes to the back four
The defence could see several changes happen against West Ham after what was seen in pre-season.
Ordinarily, Ian Maatsen would start over Lucas Digne at left-back however, the Dutchman hasn’t performed at a level close to the Frenchman, which could see Digne start in the capital.
In central defence, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa should keep their place despite their shortcomings against Dortmund, seeing Kosta Nedeljkovic assume the vacant spot at right-back.
The Serbian has been a standout in pre-season for Villa, proving that he is a far stronger option on the right side than Matty Cash.
Midfield pairing is difficult to debate
After pre-season, it’s impossible to predict a midfield pivot that isn’t Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans.
The £50m former Everton ace has shown glimpses of his combative side in pre-season while Tielemans’ quality has shone through in recent games.
Enzo Barrenechea might not be quite ready for the Premier League and Ross Barkley is a strong alternative from the bench to the Belgian pair.
Competition growing in the front line
There is a lot to debate in attack considering that Villa’s pre-season has gone by without seeing Ollie Watkins in action.
The assumption will be that the Englishman will start against the Hammers, with those behind him fighting for a starting spot.
On the left, Jacob Ramsey might be unlucky enough to miss out to Morgan Rogers, who has been impressive throughout the summer for Villa.
Joining Rogers could be captain John McGinn in the central areas, with Leon Bailey starting on the right side ahead of Nedeljkovic.
The 2024/25 season could be trial and error for Villa
As expected from a club that has made significant changes to the squad in the summer, the upcoming season could differ from the one just seen under Emery.
The boss has committed his future to Villa’s long-term project, with the 2024/25 campaign having the potential to be one for the manager to tweak his squad and begin to rebuild from the foundations.
It will be interesting to see how Villa fair in their opening Premier League games of the campaign after making wholesale changes this summer.
