Aston Villa are fresh off the back of a disappointing summer tour of the US in which they lost all three of their friendly fixtures.
Fans will not want to read too much into pre-season results but Unai Emery will undoubtedly be concerned by the run of defeats in America.
The tour of the US was as much about expanding the global reach of Aston Villa as the football and three losses in front of potential new supporters is not a great marketing campaign for the club.
However, current Aston Villa fans are unlikely to care too much about that consequence of the trio of losses, but will want to see their players turn their form around in their last two games prior to facing West Ham on August 17.
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That could start with a clash against Athletic Bilbao at Walsall on Wednesday night, before Villa travel to face German giants Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in their final test of the summer.
Unai Emery needs to decide on Aston Villa midfield pairing
Despite a campaign that saw Villa qualify for the Champions League last season, Emery has been in no mood to stand still this summer.
That has seen eight players signed, but this has been soured somewhat by the departures of Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz.
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While Diaby is yet to be replaced, Emery has welcomed Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea and Amadou Onana to his midfield options in a bid to fill the Luiz void.
Onana seems nailed on to start after Villa parted with £50 million for his signing, but he could be partnered by any one of Barrenechea, Barkley, Youri Tielemans or even John McGinn; although the Scot normally plays more advanced.
To add to add that, Boubacar Kamara is expected to return from the ACL injury that has kept the Frenchman out since February in late October.
With that in mind, Emery has a real decision to make regarding his midfield ahead of the start of the season.
Ross Barkley could secure Aston Villa starting spot against Athletic Bilbao
Barkley demonstrated his quality at Luton Town last season before making the £5 million move to Villa this summer for his second spell at Villa Park.
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The 30-year-old reinvented himself as a holding midfielder at Luton having played most of his career as an attacking midfield player.
Barkley’s performances against Arsenal and Manchester City in particular last winter led to Luton team-mate Andros Townsend labelling him ‘unbelievable’ before comparing the midfielder to Diego Maradona.
After resurrecting his career, Barkley will be in no mood to give up regular football and will be determined to show Emery he should start against West Ham in just under two weeks.
The friendly against Bilbao on Wednesday night represents the perfect opportunity to do that and, with so much competition for midfield places, it is one Barkley must take.
The former Chelsea man needs to show Emery his qualities against strong opposition and will hope to be handed the chance to show he can compliment Onana well at the heart of the Villa side.
If not, it would not be a surprise to see Emery opt for another of his midfield options in the early weeks of the season.
