Marcus Rashford & Ollie Watkins decisions as Unai Emery makes three changes - Aston Villa predicted XI v Ipswich

Aston Villa are back in Premier League action this Saturday afternoon as they play host to relegation battlers Ipswich Town.

Unai Emery’s side will be full of renewed confidence after last weekend’s comfortable 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fourth round, the perfect response to the 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers before that. Villa are without a win in their last three Premier League outings and will be desperate to put that right.

It won’t be easy to beat Ipswich, however, as they’re fighting for their lives at the opposite end of the league standings. Down in 19th and three points from safety, the Tractor Boys must start picking up wins quickly or their relegation back to the Championship will be sealed sooner rather than later.

Emery has several selection dilemmas to consider this weekend. The defensive picks are probably quite straight-forward as there are only so many options with Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Matty Cash all out injured. It gets tricky in the attacking midfield and forward positions, however, with so much quality available.

Ollie Watkins has been back in training this week and is in contention to start ahead of Donyell Malen, while Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio will be itching to be in the XI after promising debuts off the bench against Spurs. It’s not easy to get into the lineup, though, with Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers forming a superb partnership.

Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Ipswich

Without further ado, here are the 11 players we reckon will get the nod against Kieran McKenna’s side.

GK - Emi Martinez

Widely regarded as the world’s number one, Martinez is the first name on the team sheet week in and week out. He’s a World Cup winner for a reason.

RB - Andres Garcia

Into the XI a little earlier than expected due to Matty Cash’s injury, Garcia has a superb opportunity to impress. The winter signing has been effective on the overlap so far.

CB - Axel Disasi

Signed late on deadline day from Chelsea, Disasi will almost certainly start this weekend as Ezri Konsa suffered a hamstring injury last weekend and misses out.

CB - Tyrone Mings

Back and available following confirmation from Emery, Mings is likely to start as the left-sided centre-half with Pau still sidelined.

LB - Lucas Digne

Still ahead of Ian Maatsen in the pecking order but only just, Digne is being pushed to his limits. The competition is very healthy and Emery has the ability to rotate if he so desires.

RM - Marco Asensio

It feels harsh to bench Leon Bailey after such a fine showing against Tottenham but Asensio’s creativity could be important against Ipswich’s likely low block. John McGinn is another great option.

CM - Youri Tielemans

Tielemans often prefers playing a little further forward but a deeper role will have to suit for now with Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley out and Kamara at centre-half.

CM - Boubacar Kamara

Kamara can head back into midfield now Mings has returned to the squad. It feels harsh to leave out McGinn but Kamara has been in sensational form.

LM - Jacob Ramsey

Coming into the form of his life, Ramsey is pretty undroppable at the moment. Rashford will probably have to wait for his first start, unless he plays as an out-and-out striker. More on that in a moment.

CAM - Morgan Rogers

The hat-trick hero against Celtic and directly involved in two goals against Spurs, Rogers will be keen to carry his fine Champions League and FA Cup form over to the Premier League.

ST - Ollie Watkins

Watkins has trained this week and should be ready to start against Ipswich despite missing the Spurs clash. Rashford could theoretically start in the number nine role if Watkins isn’t quite at match sharpness, but Emery prefers Donyell Malen in his structure – for now at least.