Aston Villa face their fourth Champions League opponent of the campaign on Wednesday as they travel to Belgian side Club Brugge.
Villa are flying in the Champions League. Going into the fourth matchday in the prestigious competition, the Birmingham outfit sits top of the league table.
Now, Unai Emery has a chance to extend his side’s 100% start in the cup as they take on Belgian champions Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
However, going into the tie, the Villa manager will have to make do without two of his star players after they have failed to recover from their respective knocks.
Matty Cash and Ross Barkley ruled out of Aston Villa’s Champions League tie with Club Brugge
Villa have consistently struggled with injuries for months now. Long-term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings have only just returned to the pitch after their ACL injuries.
However, just as the duo returned, Emery had to deal with more players falling to the sidelines.
Ross Barkley, who was magnificent against Bournemouth, is one player who is no longer available. Last week, Emery confirmed Barkley would be out for a ‘few weeks’.
On top of this, Matty Cash was then forced off the pitch in the 4-1 defeat to Spurs with a calf injury.
Speaking to the press ahead of Villa’s clash with Club Brugge, Emery confirmed that the duo would not be available for the tie.
He said: “They aren’t with us Matty Cash and Ross Barkley. They both have small injuries.”
Unai Emery should consider rotating in Champions League clash vs Club Brugge
Going into the match, Villa are undoubtedly in a strong position as they face arguably one of the weaker opponents in the Champions League.
With Emery boasting strong squad depth, the manager should consider rotating for the tie to avoid any more potential injuries.
The options available should be good enough to get a positive result in Belgium which would leave many other stars fresh to face Liverpool on Saturday night.
The last thing the club needs right now is another injury to a star man, especially with the side on a poor run of form.
