Unai Emery's son named as substitute for Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

The 21-year-old goalkeeper has been handed his maiden first-team call-up in a rotated squad. With a fourth-placed finish and Champions League football for next season already secured, Emery has decided to give fringe players the opportunity to shine at Selhurst Park.

Emiliano Martinez has been left out of the squad entirely today, providing a chance for Lander Emery to enjoy his first-ever senior Villa matchday experience. He won’t feature on the pitch as Robin Olsen starts and Joe Gauci has travelled, but the chance to be in the dugout with his father couldn’t be turned down.

Formerly of Roda, San Jose and Valencia back in Spain, Lander was signed for Villa’s youth academy in January. There wasn’t a much coverage of the deal as it happened but he’ll very much be in the limelight today given his inclusion on the bench.

Team news in full

Villa have made four changes to the starting lineup that drew 3-3 with Liverpool on Monday. Olsen starts in goal instead of Martinez, while Calum Chambers, Clement Lenglet and Jhon Duran come in for Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres and Leon Bailey respectively.

Palace XI: Dean Henderson (GK); Daniel Muñoz, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Chris Richards, Nathaniel Clyne, Tyrick Mitchell; Chris Richards, Adam Wharton; Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze; Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Palace subs: Remi Matthews (GK), James Tomkins, Joel Ward, Jefferson Lerma, Jeffrey Schlupp, David Ozoh, Jairo Riedewald, Jordan Ayew, Odsonne Edouard.

Villa XI: Robin Olsen (GK); Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Clement Lenglet, Lucas Digne; Calum Chambers, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Moussa Diaby; Jhon Duran, Ollie Watkins.

Villa subs: Joe Gauci (GK), Lander Emery, Pau Torres, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Tim Iroegbunam, Finley Munroe, Omari Kellyman, Kadan Young.