Aston Villa host Sheffield United in the Premier League tonight and Unai Emery has one talented superstar who he must unleash.
If Aston Villa beat relegation battlers Sheffield United tonight, they can head into Christmas top of the standings, as long as other results go their way.
The Villans have been hit with a whole host of injuries and suspensions in recent matches.
In the 2-1 victory over Brentford last time out, Lucas Digne and Douglas Luiz were both suspended and now they’re both back in contention, midfielder Boubacar Kamara has been hit with a match ban after getting sent off against the Bees.
With Pau Torres now confirmed as injured alongside midfield maestro Youri Tielemans, Unai Emery is without at least three first-team stars for the visit of the Blades.
Following the suspension to Kamara, Emery could change his formation to a flat 4-4-2, moving John McGinn across to central midfield alongside Luiz with Jacob Ramsey on the left and Leon Bailey on the right.
Bailey came off the bench against Brentford and inspired his side to victory, assisting Alex Moreno for his headed goal with a sumptuous cross.
The Jamaican now deserves to start from the off having impressed in recent weeks.
Why should Leon Bailey start vs Sheffield United?
Bailey has come of age in claret and blue as a player truly capable of conjuring up magical moments.
During their surge towards the Premier League’s summit, the 24-year-old has been instrumental.
In his last four matches, Bailey has at least scored or assisted in each fixture, including the match-winner against Manchester City and the assist for John McGinn in the win over Arsenal.
Against a Sheffield United side, who will come to Villa Park sat behind the ball, it could take a moment of magic to unlock the Blades defence and the £100k-a-week phenom can provide that.
In the top flight this term, Bailey has wreaked havoc against his opponents and dominated against his positional peers across almost every single attacking metric.
According to FBref, the ‘exciting’ talent – as hailed by journalist Antonio Mango – ranks in the top 1% for non-penalty goals, touches in the attacking penalty box, successful take-ons and assists per 90.
The 28-cap Jamaica international is performing like a man possessed and that is enough to scare the life out of the league’s most porous defence.
No other side in the division has conceded more goals on their travels than Sheffield United (22) and if Emery throws Bailey into the mix this evening, that statistic could get a whole lot worse.
