Aston Villa have been boosted by the news that Manchester United are missing some of their key players for Sunday’s heavyweight clash.
Not long ago, Aston Villa were the most dominant force on home turf having won 15 consecutive Premier League home matches.
In the present day, however, Newcastle United and Chelsea have turned up to Villa Park and deservedly gone 3-0 up inside the hour.
From a side that boasted one of the division’s strongest defences to now shipping goals for fun, Unai Emery has a huge issue on his hands to fix and that could see him throw Pau Torres back into the starting XI.
The 27-year-old recently returned from injury to take his place on the bench against Chelsea and has been sorely missed.
Villa have struggled to progress play from defence in the Spaniard’s absence, while the injury to Ezri Konsa – who is out for three to four weeks – didn’t help their cause on Wednesday night.
Konsa joined four other Villa players on the injury table, including Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia, Lucas Digne and Jhon Duran, although Digne could return for Sunday’s fixture.
Emery’s side aren’t the only side going through a mini-injury crisis as Manchester United are suffering one of their own.
Man United are missing five players for Aston Villa clash
Erik ten Hag is faced with a major defensive decision to make for their match against Villa.
Lisandro Martinez is a key player for the Dutchman, but after missing the majority of the season, the Argentine returned for three Premier League matches and is now sidelined once more with a medial collateral ligament injury.
Alongside Martinez, Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia still aren’t ready to return to the squad while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Anthony Martial are also ruled out.
Villa must be wary
Martinez is so important to Man United, as demonstrated by the fact they are unbeaten in the last three matches he’s played, but the fact he’s out injured is a blow for United.
The likes of Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby would much rather come up against Maguire than the 26-year-old.
Defensively, they can certainly get at a United side who have conceded seven in their last three away matches in the league, but Emery must be wary of their attack.
Ten Hag’s front three of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund have been devastating in recent matches and will fancy their chances of exploiting a porous Villa backline.
It’s so important that the Villans bounce back from their recent home slump by beating the side who are eight points and two places behind them in the table.
