Sky reporter Dan Bardell has suggested that Aston Villa boss Unai Emery could now decide to drop a £120,000-per-week star from his starting eleven.
Villa open Champions League account with thumping 3-0 win
It was a dream start for Emery and the Villans in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with the Premier League side putting Young Boys to the sword in Switzerland.
Goals from Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and marquee summer signing Amadou Onana wrapped up a crucial and convincing 3-0 win in their first game back playing in Europe’s most prestigious competition since the 1980s.
Emery will be pleased with how Villa dominated the play in periods, finishing the game with 20 attempts on goal and the majority of possession, with Villa opening their Champions League account in excellent fashion.
Aston Villa’s next five Premier League fixtures | Date |
|---|---|
Wolves (home) | Today |
Ipswich Town (away) | September 29 |
Man United (home) | October 6 |
Fulham (away) | October 19 |
Bournemouth (home) | October 26 |
Speaking to TNT Sports after their thumping victory, Emery dedicated the win to former Aston Villa striker Gary Shaw, who passed away aged 63.
“This victory is for Gary Shaw,” said Emery on Villa’s 3-0 win at Young Boys. “We [continued in] the Champions League the way they finished 42 years ago. We want to dedicate this victory to Gary Shaw and his family.
“It was difficult. Our experiences last year [in the Europa Conference League] show that. We focused very well for 90 minutes to be consistent. We were adapting on the pitch. We always respected them.
“We have to create a new way. What we created in the Conference League last season was fantastic.”
Now, attention turns to Villa’s Midlands derby clash against Wolves in the Premier League this afternoon, and it will be fascinating to see how Emery sets up his team at home. Domestically, they’ve started the new campaign in equally promising fashion to their European adventures – winning three out of their opening four league games of the season so far.
Gary O’Neil’s Wolves, by contrast, are yet to win a single game and have been on the wrong side of thumping defeats to the likes of Chelsea. We’ve predicted how Villa will line up against Wolves today, but Bardell has his own verdict.
Bardell suggests Emery could drop Aston Villa star Lucas Digne
Speaking to Villa News, the Sky reporter suggested Lucas Digne may not be in the starting line up this afternoon in favour of summer signing Ian Maatsen.
The £120,000-per-week defender has started all four of their league games thus far, and played 88 minutes of their win over Young Boys. He’s chalked up two assists in that time as well, but Bardell claims Digne could be dropped by Villa for today’s game against Wolves.
“I think if we didn’t have this cup game on Tuesday, I think there is a decent chance [Jhon] Duran might have started against Wolves,” said Bardell.
“There is going to be a time when he starts games in the Premier League and there will be an element of rotation with Ollie Watkins. Maybe we’ll see Maatsen on Saturday instead of Lucas Digne. Other than that I don’t envisage many changes. I think because we played on Tuesday there’s been enough downtime going into this game.“
