Unai Emery has the opportunity to properly experiment with his squad in a competitive setting for the first time on Sunday afternoon, as Aston Villa take on League Two side Stevenage in the FA Cup Third Round. The Villans will be looking to get back to winning ways after they were held to a 1-1 draw with local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday evening.
Villa looked extremely leggy in the first half of that particular encounter as they were static and unable to deal with Wolves’ high press. Their own press was essentially non-existent in the opening 60 minutes or so, though things did improve toward the end of the fixture. Emery will no doubt be relieved to give a number of key players a rest on Sunday as - with all due respect - Stevenage are of far lower quality.
The Boro are on an automatic promotion charge in League Two as things stand with 15 wins and just three defeats in their opening 24 league games, but they are still 70th in the Football League pyramid. Even with Stevenage’s top form of late, it would be a real shock if Emery was to decide against making a number of changes. With that in mind, here is our predicted starting XI for Sunday’s clash.

5. RB: Matty Cash
Has partnered Mings for most of the season and we do not see this changing, especially after a clean sheet. | Getty Images

6. CM: Leander Dendoncker
Another player to come on against Wolves, Dendoncker is a top player in his own right. Comes in for Boubacar Kamara. | Getty Images

7. CM: Morgan Sanson
Has, rather incredibly, played just one league minute all season. If he doesn’t play in a game like this, there may not be much use for Sanson. | Getty Images

8. LM: Arjan Raikhy
Although Emery confirmed Jacob Ramsey would finally be fit to play on the weekend, we think he will feature off the bench. Raikhy looked great in Dubai. | Getty Images