‘Outside the box’ defensive selection as Unai Emery makes £26m call - Aston Villa predicted XI vs Club Brugge

The Villans will be eager to make it four wins out of four in the league phase as they take on Club Brugge at Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday night.

Victories over Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna have made for a perfect start to the Champions League but it’ll be difficult to maintain such form. Brugge are potential banana skin opponents as Blauw-Zwart are second in the Belgian Pro League and recently won in the Champions League against Sturm Graz.

Emery certainly won’t underestimate any opposition in Europe’s most elite competition and as a result, we are expecting him to name a similar starting lineup to the one that lost 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. That said, Matty Cash’s calf injury means there will be one change and more adjustments may be tempting given the nature of the weekend’s defeat.

Aston Villa predicted XI vs Club Brugge

With all of that in mind, here’s the Villa lineup we reckon will be named in Brugge.

GK - Emiliano Martinez

Martinez has proved to everyone over recent weeks that he truly is one of - if not the - world’s best. There’s no shifting the Argentine out of the lineup.

RB - Kosta Nedeljkovic

Cash’s injury means Emery must pick a replacement and we reckon the outside-the-box pick of Nedeljkovic is very possible, especially after Diego Carlos’ terrible performance off the bench at Spurs.

CB - Ezri Konsa

Konsa plays best at centre-back, as displayed at the weekend. Emery should ignore Carlos, signed two years ago for £26m, if he’s to reward and punish form.

CB - Pau Torres

Pau hasn’t been in the best of form but he’ll be more keen than anyone to bounce back. He’ll be looking over his shoulder at Tyrone Mings now, too, perhaps pushing him to the next level.

LB - Lucas Digne 

The Frenchman remains the first choice left-back and will continue to be despite Ian Maatsen’s positive performances off the bench. Rotation is unlikely in an away Champions League fixture.

RM - John McGinn

The skipper has struggled a little with inconsistency and is at risk of being dropped soon. It doesn’t quite feel like that moment yet, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see McGinn benched.

CM - Amadou Onana

Onana had arguably his best 45 minutes in a Villa shirt in the first half away at Spurs. He just needs to continue his momentum and energy throughout the entirety of matches.

CM - Youri Tielemans

Tielemans works very well in the double pivot, especially when he’s got freedom to roam a little. He’s been one of Villa’s star men so far this season.

LM - Jacob Ramsey

Ramsey is moving closer to being back to his best after a host of injury struggles. The academy product just needs to start scoring to reach full confidence.

CAM - Morgan Rogers

Rogers, who scored his third goal of the campaign on Sunday, has sensationally become one of the first names on the team sheet. His direct dribbling gives defenders nightmares.

ST - Ollie Watkins

Watkins hasn’t quite hit the heights of last season just yet but remains an excellent striker. It’s tough to keep Jhon Duran on the bench, but Emery’s system tends to work better with one out-and-out centre forward.