Villa’s best XI

[Dave]

If Disasi and Konsa are both in the team, I'd be very surprised if it's not Konsa who is at right-back.

I thought that, but Jacob Tanswell was saying the opposite.

Fair enough. Given our other right-back options, I'm pretty sure we'll find out at some point!

[Drummond]

I think Rogers is getting that way for sure, but I also think we have other options we may choose over him now.

Then again, it's such a lovely problem to have, and I'm excited about what might happen for the rest of the season.

The thing I like about this, is if we have so many options that WE don't know how we'll line up, how the hell will the opposition be able to prepare properly for it?

Yep, agree with this.

And it means they all get a rest, so should be at peak fitness levels. Defenders will hate playing us, especially if they have Watkins and Rogers running at them, to be replaced with Rashford and Asensio? Bailey then Malen?

Or we just have a full change.

Tielemans, Bailey Watkins and Rogers replaced by Ramsey, Malen, Asensio and Rashford? I just don't remember a time when we had anything like that sort of choice.

[Smithy]

I think Rogers is getting that way for sure, but I also think we have other options we may choose over him now.

Then again, it's such a lovely problem to have, and I'm excited about what might happen for the rest of the season.

The thing I like about this, is if we have so many options that WE don't know how we'll line up, how the hell will the opposition be able to prepare properly for it?

Yep, agree with this.

And it means they all get a rest, so should be at peak fitness levels. Defenders will hate playing us, especially if they have Watkins and Rogers running at them, to be replaced with Rashford and Asensio? Bailey then Malen?

Or we just have a full change.

Tielemans, Bailey Watkins and Rogers replaced by Ramsey, Malen, Asensio and Rashford? I just don't remember a time when we had anything like that sort of choice.

It feels like about ten minutes, and also a million years, since we placed our premier league hopes on an attacking trio of Wesley, Trez and El Ghazi.  How times have changed...

[ChicagoLion]

Right now I would have him ahead of Onana
      Emi
Konsa Disasi Mings Digne
     Kamara SJM
Rogers Acensio Ramsey
           Watkins
Then form / injury gives Emery decisions to make
Malen Rashford Onana Torres BaileyMaatsen Tielmans

Hell of a bench.

Have you sold Tielemans?

Good point.

[PaulTheVillan]

At the moment I'd go with

Martinez
Cash Konsa Torres Digne
Kamara Tielemans
Rogers Asensio Ramsey
Watkins

I like to think that the 3 behind Watkins are fluid and can interchange positioins during the game.

[ChicagoLion]

I hate the Cash Konsa Torres line up.
It just does not seem to work.

[PaulTheVillan]

I hate the Cash Konsa Torres line up.
It just does not seem to work.

We’ll soon see if the new additions are a better option.

[edgysatsuma89]

Right now I would have him ahead of Onana
      Emi
Konsa Disasi Mings Digne
     Kamara SJM
Rogers Acensio Ramsey
           Watkins
Then form / injury gives Emery decisions to make
Malen Rashford Onana Torres BaileyMaatsen

Hell of a bench.

Have you sold Tielemans?

Yeah, it just shows to me that there is a 'better' player than him in each position. And I like McGinn!

[paul_e]

Looking at the defensive options I think we now have 2 clear options:

Cash Konsa Mings Maatsen
OR
Garcia Disasi Pau Digne

I'd split it that way you have 1 more attacking fullback each side and next to them you have the more aggressive CB.

There's probably similar ways to set up the attack to be more complimentary to each other (and the rest of the team). For instance I'd be more inclined to start JJ if Maatsen is at full back because I think they look really dangerous together.

[Hookeysmith]

I seriously think Konsa will have one eye over his shoulder with Disasi here - KOnsa has become complacent and dithers with the ball too much, that's when he is not looking round to blame someone else after the goal goes in.

Not unusually not been the same since becoming a regular with the England team

[brontebilly]

Disasi is not a good right back at all.

Neither is Konsa. He's playing dreadfully at CB too for quite some time. Maybe Disasi coming in will force him to buck up his ideas asap.

Disasi isn't going to improve our distribution from the back, Digne is decent on the ball but Cash, Konsa, Disasi, Mings are all average in possession. That's going to be a problem I think until Torres returns. Id like Emery to tweak tactics a bit there. Maybe get the ball up to Rogers and Watkins a bit quicker from the back and play from there.

[LeeB]

With regards Rogers, as absolutely brilliant as he has been, he can be very careless with the ball in periods where we need the exact opposite and it's probably inexperience more than anything, but we need to be able to address that without giving up our threat and I think Asensio will help that a lot.

[edgysatsuma89]

With regards Rogers, as absolutely brilliant as he has been, he can be very careless with the ball in periods where we need the exact opposite and it's probably inexperience more than anything, but we need to be able to address that without giving up our threat and I think Asensio will help that a lot.

Yeah, I was discussing this yesterday. There are times he definitely needs hooking and now we have the players to hopefully maintain that quality.

[Toronto Villa]

In a way we've all been a little unfair on Rogers given this time last year he'd just moved up from being just another player at Championship Middlesborough to PL Aston Villa. Most of us didn't even know who he was. And yet a year later he's massively exceeded expectations that we expect a young player like that to always keep to that high a bar. It would good for him to learn a bit by watching these top players as well as playing.

[Smirker]

Martínez

Konsa - Pau - Mings - Digne

Onana - Kamara

Ramsey - Asensio - Rogers

Watkins

Bailey, Maatsen, Tielemens, McGinn, Barkley, Rashford not getting in. Mad.