Aston Villa could be without another player following his own injury, which would result in him being on the sidelines with midfielder John McGinn, after the latter was forced off during their 3-1 win over Wolves on Saturday.
Aston Villa beat Wolves in Midlands derby
Unai Emery was a happy man on the touchline as his Villa side continued their impressive start to the season with victory in the Midlands Derby.
Wolves did threaten to upset the home side, after striker Matheus Cunha gave them a surprise lead just past the 20-minute mark. It wasn’t exactly plain sailing, with Gary O’Neil’s men holding that advantage for a large portion of the game as well.
It took until the last 15 minutes before Villa managed to grab an equaliser, thanks to star frontman Ollie Watkins, who opened the floodgates for Emery’s side to battle their way to a Premier League victory.
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Aston Villa’s next five Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich Town (away) |
September 29 |
|
Man United (home) |
October 6 |
|
Fulham (away) |
October 19 |
|
Bournemouth (home) |
October 26 |
|
Tottenham (away) |
November 3 |
Defender Ezri Konsa fired them into the lead just minutes from added time, with striker Jhon Duran then continuing his own impressive start to 2024/2025. The Colombian notched Villa’s third in the 94th minute and sealed all three points on derby day, but the win prompted a mix response from Emery.
“We want to win matches easier than we did,” said Emery on Villa’s win over Wolves.
“We are showing how difficult it is to win in the Premier League – last week against Everton.
“We were suffering in the first half but the second half was completely different. I am very happy because we won. It was very important we changed our energy and we played to win in the second half.”
One real downside of the afternoon, though, was in the form of midfielder John McGinn and his injury. The 29-year-old has started all five of their Premier League matches so far and is a crucial cog in Emery’s midfield, having also bagged six goals and four assists in 35 top flight starts last term.
McGinn was forced off with a hamstring injury against Wolves, and Emery has claimed he will be sidelined for the next few weeks.
“It’s his hamstring,” Emery said to reporters.
“In January against Tottenham he had a hamstring injury as well. He will not be available I think for a few weeks.”
Jaden Philogene could be sidelined with McGinn at Villa
As per Birmingham World, another player who could be sidelined alongside McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash and Tyrone Mings is winger Jaden Philogene.
The winger, signed from Hull City in the summer for £18 million, missed out against Wolves through injury. It is believed Philogene could miss out against Wycombe as well, given the short turnaround between games, so their EFL Cup clash tonight may come too soon.
Not having the Englishman available would be a slight frustration for Emery, as this evening’s tie would be an ample opportunity to start the highly promising winger.
“Ridiculous, it’s ridiculous, his ability is something we have missed for a long time,” said ex-Hull City boss Liam Rosenior to Sky Sports earlier this year.
“He is only going to get better the more games he plays.”
