Premier League football returns this weekend as Aston Villa host Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The international break hasn’t been kind to Unai Emery, who has seen his squad battered by the hectic schedule.
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Amadou Onana suffered a foot injury on Belgium duty and will miss the next two to three weeks of action while Ian Maatsen, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa were sent back to Aston Villa.
Luckily, Maatsen and Torres were spotted in training alongside right-back Matty Cash, with the Poland international set to return to the starting XI.
Emery will hope that, despite the absence of Onana and Jacob Ramsey, Villa will be able to bounce back after a five-match winless run in all competitions, and Paul Merson has now said whether they will.
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It’s been a difficult period for Emery’s men, who have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, lost their first Champions League match and slipped down to ninth in the Premier League.
Still, the Villans remain just a point behind third-place Chelsea in the top flight, demonstrating how tightly contested the division is.
Paul Scholes and Gary Neville think Villa will beat Palace this weekend and they aren’t the only ones who believe the hosts will return to winning ways.
In his column for Sportskeeda, Merson has predicted Emery’s side to win 2-0: “Big game for both teams. Aston Villa have to get back to winning ways. Form-wise they have dropped off a bit and they must turn that around quickly. Villa are without a win in their last five games across all competitions, having lost four on the trot after the draw with Bournemouth.
“I’m backing Villa to get back on track with a win here. They are ninth in the league now, if they don’t win again, they will drift away from the big boys quickly. I know they are only one point away from third-place, but there are a lot of teams in front of them. Their goal difference is zero, which is madness. Tottenham are actually behind Villa and Spurs’ goal difference is +10!
“Goal difference acts as an extra point in this league, so Villa must be careful and work in improving it. They also have Juventus coming up in the Champions League and like I always say, they must not get caught up with that playing on their minds. It has to be one game at a time.”
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Morgan Rogers is crucial vs Crystal Palace
Morgan Rogers is riding the crest of the wave at the moment as good news continues to fall his way for club and country.
Rogers made his England debut during the break and signed a new long-term contract at Villa Park, keeping him at the club till 2026.
The 22-year-old is returning from international duty with a spring in his step, and he can continue wreaking havoc against Palace.
Oliver Glasner is without multiple midfielders this weekend, most notably Adam Wharton, Daichi Kamada and Matheus Franca.
That will be music to the ears of Rogers, who can find joy in his attacking midfield role, operating between the lines and feeding ammunition into Ollie Watkins.
Indeed, any chance of Villa clinching an important victory could see the England international involved, perhaps adding to his six-goal involvements this term.
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