Aston Villa Under 21’s begin their Premier League 2 campaign against West Bromwich Albion at Bodymoor Heath this evening.
Inigo Idiakez was appointed as manager in July, and will be looking to pick up his first win as soon as possible.
Last season, the Villains finished in respectable fifth place but with the changes to PL2, they will now play in the top division.
How does Premier League 2 work?
For the new season, the first division will be solely made up of Category One Academies. There are 26 clubs who fall under this blanket.
These teams were divided into five performance based pots and fixtures are decided by clubs’ positions in the pots.
After the season of 20 match weeks is complete, the top 16 teams will compete in a play off.
This provides a big change from just a regular league season.
Who are Aston Villa Under 21s key players?
The young lions have a squad of talented young players who could make first team appearances or potentially leave on loan.
Josh Feeney is one of the shining lights. A centre back who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and is able to play out from the back with ease.
Playing for the first team against Walsall last month, he did not look out of place. He has been linked to League One side Blackpool this summer, but remains at Villa thus far.
A similar story with Omari Kellyman. He impressed Villa fans across the world with his performances in the Premier League Summer Series in America.
An attacking minded midfielder, he covers a lot of ground and isn’t afraid to take a shot from range.
Rory Wilson is a prolific striker.
Floating between the under 18s and 21s, last season he scored 15 and assisted two in just 20 games.
The Scottish striker has big expectations as Villa fans begin to take notice of this youth team bagsman, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing him down.
There are stars in the making in this Villa u21s squad who could easily make the step up to the first team this season.
