Aston Villa could be strengthened by the potential return of Lucas Digne to the squad, as Manchester United prepare for battle at Villa Park this afternoon in the Premier League.
Aston Villa will be seeking revenge on Manchester United as Unai Emery’s side prepare to welcome Erik ten Hag’s 6th-place squad to Villa Park.
The stage is set for the highly anticipated battle between the two clubs in 5th and 6th in the table to clash, allowing Emery’s XI the opportunity to reclaim fourth from Tottenham and restore their stellar home form.
Having lost just once at Villa Park this season in the Premier League, Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways in front of their home supporters after crashing out of the FA Cup on Wednesday night.
During the Villans’ 3-1 loss to the Blues, some individual performers were exposed as weaknesses that could inspire the boss to rotate his squad ahead of the test against United.
Aston Villa team news vs Manchester United
One of the positives that came from the defeat against Chelsea was the return of Pau Torres, who was named in the squad after recovering from injury to view the game as an unused substitute.
The centre-back could make his full return this afternoon to implement a change of personnel in the back line, representing just one of the switches that could be made by the manager ahead of play.
As relayed in the media this week, left-back Lucas Digne is in contention to follow Pau and return to the squad against Manchester United, with his last appearance for Villa coming at Old Trafford on Boxing Day against today’s opposition.
Why Lucas Digne should start for Aston Villa against Manchester United
Despite having only just returned to training, starting Digne from the off against United could prove to be a risk worth taking for Emery.
Although Alex Moreno has done a stellar job in filling in for the Frenchman, the threat that Digne can hand Villa is an asset that could particularly cause United problems this afternoon.
As highlighted by WhoScored, no Aston Villa player averages a higher rate of key passes per game in the Premier League this season than the 30-year-old, who averages 1.6 per game to showcase his creative spark.
Placing his attacking prowess aside, Digne has shown his worth defensively this term under Emery, with his presence at the back statistically better than that of Moreno as per the duo’s statistics.
The Frenchman averages 1.7 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game to Moreno’s 0.9 tackles and 0.7 interceptions in the Premier League, giving him a slight defensive edge over his Spanish counterpart.
What will be notable by Emery in his preparation ahead of the fixture is the aim to limit United’s threat, which frequently comes from the right flank through the energy of the in-form Alejandro Garnacho.
The 19-year-old scored twice against Villa on Boxing Day to influence the direction of the three points, with his competence in the final third being a flame that the defence must extinguish efficiently.
Lauded as being “dangerous” by Paul Scholes, Garnacho could have his range limited if Digne is fielded over Moreno, with the Frenchman being Emery’s best defensive option on the left side when fit.
It’s a risk that the manager will have to weigh up the repercussions over before making his decision, although the pending return of Digne will be welcomed with open arms by those at Villa Park.
