Unai Emery is now prepared to make a crucial Alex Moreno decision at Aston Villa, while a new Lucas Digne quandary looms.
After a new Lucas Digne conundrum emerged, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery may be forced to make a vital squad selection for their next two games against Zrinjski and Wolves.
According to Birmingham Live, the Frenchman is now just one yellow card away from suspension in the Premier League, which may force Emery to start Alex Moreno in either of the two games.
Both Digne and Douglas Luiz have four yellow cards after the first seven Premier League games of the season, which means another yellow could result in an automatic suspension with the club facing some crucial fixtures beginning on Sunday (8 October) against Wolves.
Digne has stepped up in Alex Moreno’s absence at the start of current season as the Spaniard recovers from a hamstring injury suffered in May.
Moreno returned to the matchday squad against Crystal Palace but did not travel to Stamford Bridge last month as Unai Emery indicated (through journalist John Townley, 24 September) that he is not 100 percent comfortable competing.
Emery will be seeking to make it six points from six this week, when they face Zrinjski in the Europa Conference League on Thursday before hosting Midlands rivals Wolves at the weekend, and playing Digne on Sunday may provide an inopportune danger.
The Spaniard may be compelled to play Digne on Thursday and bring the very good Moreno back from injury on Sunday at Molineux Stadium.
Moreno made 19 Premier League games after joining for £13 million from Real Betis in January, becoming manager Unai Emery’s first signing, and established himself as a regular starter before his injury.
Moreno was a standout for the Villans previous season, averaging 1.2 crucial passes, 46% dribble completion, and 1.2 tackles per game [SofaScore].
According to FBREF’s Opta-powered statistics, Moreno is in the 96th percentile of players for progressive carries (3.87) and the top 20% of his counterparts for progressive passes received (6.16 per 90) and successful take-ons (1.24 per 90) over the last year.
Moreno’s attacking abilities have been well known, and he has proven to be the ideal match for an Aston Villa side that modifies its tactical framework to allow the Spaniard to bomb forward.
While Digne’s attacking game has significantly improved this season, it will be a blow to lose him if he is suspended in the coming weeks, but Emery may be willing to give Moreno some much-needed game time to regain his match-rhythm ahead of the upcoming international break.
Emery is in for a significant selection headache this week, but that’s the price of having so many high-quality alternatives in just one position.
In other Aston Villa news, following the departure of one player, an Aston Villa Women defender has been awarded a club accolade.
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