Aston Villa scored a late winner to secure all three points against Luton Town.
Aston Villa recorded their third Premier League win in a row, although it took a late Lucas Digne winner to seal all three points.
Luton Town threatened to snatch a share of the spoils, clawing back a two-goal deficit, but the mentality that Unai Emery has installed in his team is why they are currently sitting in the top four.
The fixtures are set to come thick and fast over the next few weeks, however, as the club get set to take on Ajax in the last 16 of the Europa Conference League.
Emery-Aston VillaThis means Emery may have to reshuffle his starting XI in order to keep things fresh, indicating that a few players may drop out…
Youri Tielemans was poor against Luton, and he could make way for someone more effective.
Youri Tielemans’ statistics vs Luton Town The Belgian was unleashed alongside Ollie Watkins against the Hatters as Emery went for a standard 4-4-2, but while the Englishman scored twice, Tielemans couldn’t quite get into the game.
Youri Tielemans’ stats vs Luton Town Accurate passes 18 Touches 35 Total shots 0 Possession lost 11Total duels won 3/6Via Sofa score.
He failed to have a single shot on goal, made just one key pass and failed to create a big chance during the clash as he failed to provide a meaningful attacking contribution.
The former Leicester City midfielder lost possession 11 times throughout the tie and managed to take just 35 touches –
36 fewer than Emiliano Martínez in the sticks – while completing just 69% of his passes, and it was clear his stint alongside Watkins was poor.
youri-tielemans-aston-villa-premier-leagueWith Morgan Rogers and Moussa Diaby on the bench,
it was a strange move seeing Tielemans start next to the in-form Watkins, and could this change ahead of the tie against Ajax in midweek?
The players who could replace Youri Tielemans against Ajax Dropping the £150k-per-week ace to the bench makes sense and this gives Emery the option to unleash a couple of players in his place.
Rogers has registered 16 goal contributions this term – seven goals and nine assists – and can operate either on the wing or as a centre-forward,
indicating that he could certainly be a useful option for the Spaniard to call upon.
leon-bailey-moussa-diaby-aston-villa-everton-carabao-cupThe most obvious choice perhaps is Diaby, who has found himself on the bench recently for the Midlands side.
He has yet to hit the heights that saw him become one of the most feared attackers in the Bundesliga, scoring just six times for Villa, but he enjoyed a solid cameo against Luton.
The Frenchman set up Digne’s late winner while making one key pass and creating a big chance and there is no doubt he would be fresh after playing just 11 minutes on the weekend.
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Tielemans may be able to offer a variety of qualities to this Villa side, but playing him in a more advanced role did not work well against Luton, and it is time Emery went for a player who has more experience in this area.
Diaby should be given the nod, especially if a 4-4-2 formation is chosen again, and he can take a lot of confidence from his late assist against the Hatters.
