Aston Villa are back in action on Wednesday night, as Unai Emery’s side welcome Everton to Villa Park in the third round of the Carabao Cup competition.
The Spaniard will be hoping that his side can replicate their dominant performance against the Toffees when the teams met last month in the Premier League, on what was a day to forget for the Blues as they were blown away 4-0 by the Midlands giants.
What changes could Unai Emery make to the Villa squad?
It’s almost certain that Emery will rotate his squad ahead of the league cup fixture, which will mark his squad’s third game in just six days, after featuring in the Europa Conference League last Thursday.
Sunday’s 1-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge reset the standard after Villa’s disappointing performance in the Conference League, in which the Spaniard’s rotated squad lost 3-2 to Legia Warsaw in Poland.
Back on home soil on Wednesday, it looks as though a similar squad could play to the one that featured in Europe, with notable changes set to be made.
After starting between the posts in the Conference League qualifying round against Hibernian, Robin Olsen could get the nod over Emiliano Martinez in goal to give the Argentine a rest.
For similar reasons, Calum Chambers could be handed a chance for redemption over Matty Cash at right back, despite playing particularly poorly against Legia last week.
As he continues to wait for his first Premier League start as a Villan, Youri Tielemans could be given the time to shine in the cup, as the Belgian continues to search for a way into the starting 11 in competition with the trusted Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara.
Another midfield change that we could see is newly returning Jacob Ramsey, who could make his full return to the squad after suffering a broken metatarsal at the U21 European Championships during the summer.
John McGinn could be the man to make way for the Englishman, considering that the Scotsman has featured nine times already this term and could benefit from a rest from the starting lineup.
Should Jacob Ramsey start against Everton?
After missing the start of the campaign, Emery will be delighted to see Ramsey back in the fold after his heroics last term, in which he scored six goals and registered seven assists in the Premier League during Villa’s chase for a European finish.
Previously lauded as “sensational” by The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans, the 22-year-old gem could offer a lot of bonuses to the Villans’ midfield in place of McGinn, with the quality to cause Everton real problems.
As highlighted by FBref, the £70k-per-week academy graduate is more direct in the final third than the club captain, with him averaging 3.21 progressive carries and 0.20 non-penalty goals per 90 last season in the league.
In comparison, McGinn averaged 1.14 progressive carries and just 0.03 non-penalty goals per 90 that term, as well as falling short in the playmaking department with an average of 0.60 key passes to Ramsey’s 1.43 per 90.
Villa brushed the Toffees aside when they last met, which could create the perfect environment for the Englishman to make his return, in a fixture that could see him exert his quality on Everton and regain his match fitness against a Premier League opponent.
