Aston Villa welcome Manchester City to Villa Park this evening as they look to maintain their home form. Moussa Diaby deserves to return to the starting XI this time around.
It has been a great start to life with Aston Villa for Moussa Diaby following his move from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
He was signed by Unai Emery as a priority target as he was given a £130k-a-week contract in a £52m move.
Last time out against Bournemouth, Villa fell behind twice during the game and were able to fight back both times.
First, Leon Bailey scored a rocket from the edge of the box after cutting in from the right-hand side, as he so often does. The second came very late on thanks to a superb flick header by Ollie Watkins who latched on to a wonderful Diaby cross.
The Frenchman didn’t start the game as Nicolo Zaniolo was preferred but following the loanee’s performance, he has to be replaced.
Why Moussa Diaby should start vs Manchester City
It is safe to say that Zaniolo hasn’t been good enough in recent weeks. This was summed up by a tweet by WhoScored recently.
If this doesn’t sum up his time with the club so far, then nothing will. He needs to take some time out on the bench and take his chances when they come. This leaves the door open for someone to step up and take his place.
Diaby has to be that man, as he so often has been this campaign. On the attacking front, he has been electric and a ‘nightmare for defenders‘. Looking at his Fbref, he ranks in the top 20% for the majority of attacking stats.
Looking at his non-penalty xG, assists and total shots he ranks nearly in the top 10% of all attacking midfielders or wingers in Europe’s top five leagues.
His direct nature comes with his pace and his love of cutting inside. Although at times he could be more direct and get more shots off, he has still had a great campaign thus far.
His goal was superb against Legia Warsaw and his assist against Bournemouth was just as good. He appears to be back on song and hopefully, his form can continue against Manchester City.
