Wednesday saw Aston Villa do exactly what any club is supposed to do, when facing a UCL opponent that that is greatly overmatched against them- they took care of business. The Villans slaughtered Fenerbahce 6-0. However, the victory came with an injury scare to midfielder Ross Barkley, who was spotted pointing to his hip area, and explaining something about it to one of the coaches, during the win. It could be something, but it might also be nothing.
We’ll await an update on Barkley, which should come from Villa boss Unai Emery later on this week.
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Oct. 17, 5:30pm, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK
Team News: Newcastle United Aston Villa
PL Form, Standings: Aston Villa 16th, 5 pts, LDLWD Newcastle United 11th 8 pts, WDLWL
Google Result Probability: Aston Villa win 32% Draw 26% Newcastle United win 42%
Aston Villa Team News
Meanwhile Villa could get several players back from injury this Saturday, when they travel to Newcastle United. Emery, in speaking to the media yesterday, ahead of the Fenerbahce clash, expressed his optimism that George Hemmings (knee) and Brian Madjo (ankle) could be ready to play again this weekend.
Modou Keba Cisse (group/hip/pelvic area) is in the same boat, with Emery pointing out, during Tuesday’s media session, that the player has returned to training with the rest of the group. Emery also gave updates on Ian Maatsen (ankle) and Matteo Ruggeri (thigh) yesterday, with the news pretty good for the former, and actually worse for the latter.
Emery indicated that Maatsen is about a week or two away, while Ruggeri will be out for “some weeks.”
So in other words, he’ll be out for a couple months, at least.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.