Unai Emery has named his starting XI and substitutes for today’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Emery has made two changes to his Aston Villa line-up to face Spurs from the team that defeated Burnley 2-1 in the final match before the October international break.
Those international matches have come at a cost for Villa, who will start the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without striker Ollie Watkins after crashing into the goal post in the first half of England’s win over Wales.
Villa have also been able to appoint Emi Buendía and Jadon Sancho to the bench.
Buendía suffered a serious head injury late in the match against Burnley, but has not suffered any long-term effects. Sancho returns after a spell away from the team due to illness.
Watkins was injured while on international duty
The Villa centre-forward returned to the club before England played Latvia and is fit enough to be named on the bench this afternoon but is among the changes to the squad.
In the other change, Amadou Onana returns to the starting line-up. The midfielder played very briefly for Villa on his return from injury against Burnley and played a big role for Belgium in the international break.
Watkins has been replaced by Evann Guessand, with Donyell Malen likely to take on an even more central role, although Guessand himself could be a wildcard striker that Thomas Frank may not have expected.
Onana comes on for Lamare Bogarde, who is in great form but will lose none of his momentum as Emery opted for robustness this afternoon in North London. It is now up to Onana to repay that preference.
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Villa team vs Spurs in full
Starting position: Martínez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Guessand, Rogers, Malen
substitutes: Bizot, Maatsen, Lindelöf, Barkley, Watkins, Sancho, Buendía, Elliott, Bogarde
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