AZ Alkmaar v Aston Villa team news as seven out and one doubt

Aston Villa team news

Aston Villa's long-term absentees are Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia. Both players suffered knee injuries in August, and are expected most if not all of the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.

Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey have both been nursing injuries, and both are expected to miss out again. Moreno has made two match-day squads since the end of last season but has not featured since the last campaign. Ramsey meanwhile suffered a foot injury whilst representing England under-21's during their Championship win in the summer and that has affected his availability for the season. He was out for 10 weeks, and then got three cameo appearances but is back on the sidelines.

Tim Iroegbunam suffered an injury during pre-season and that put him out of the reckoning for the start of the campaign. The 20-year-old spent last year on loan at QPR and the injury denied him of a move away from Villa Park, and now he's built up his match fitness by playing in the EFL Trophy. It remains to be seen whether he'll be included in the match-day squad or if other academy stars will be preferred ahead of him.

AZ Alkmaar team news

Mayckel Lahdo is missing through suspension in the last Europa Conference League match he played in. He picked up a red card in the 65th minute in the 1-0 win over Legia Warszawa. The 20-year-old has five assists and four goals this term with two goals and two assists coming in the Eredivise.

A knee and meniscus injury has ruled out goalkeeper Sem Westerveld for the last few months and he’s not made a match-day squad for some time. Midfielder Mees de Wit meanwhile suffered a foot injury in mid-September and has missed the last eight games.

The hosts have former Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Ryan in their ranks. The 31-year-old joined the Dutch outfit in January, and has cemented his place in the side playing the most minutes in the squad this season. Former Stoke City centre-back Bruno Martins Indi is also on their books and has made a recent return from a serious injury. A thigh problem ruled him out for the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign and he has been eased back into things with 89 minutes of action so far this season.

Greek forward Vangelis Pavlidis is the man to watch. He has 14 goals in 15 games this season with 13 league goals and the match-winning goal against Legia Warszawa last time around. Right-back Yukinari Sugawara has four assists this term and is another player that could cause Villa problems.