Aston Villa are off this week, at least from a competition standpoint, because they already advanced through to the knockout round of the UEFA Europa League. No Play-off round for them! They took care of business in the league phase already. So now they can rest and get right for the next Premier League fixture, and that’s a visit from Leeds United on Saturday. They could get Matty Cash back from a knee injury for this one.
The chances are not high, but it’s possible he makes the matchday squad, and then plays some minutes off the bench. Meanwhile Andres Garcia is on target for a return, from his thigh injury, this weekend.
Aston Villa vs Leeds United FYIs
Kickoff time: 2pm GMT, Saturday February 21, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Form Guide Premier League: Aston Villa LWLDW Leeds United LLWLL
Premier League Position: Aston Villa 50 pts, 3rd Leeds United 15th, 30 pts
Aston Villa Team News
At least given the timeline that was provided by manager Unai Emery towards the end of last month.
With Garcia, we’ve already seen, earlier this season that injury information surrounding him can be more than a bit suspect. So we’ll just have to wait and see if the club was more transparent this time. Also, the cup competition keeper, Marco Bizot is suspended for this match. As long as Emiliano Martinez stays healthy, this shouldn’t be a big issue.
Otherwise the injury/unavailability situation remains the same- John McGinn (knee), Youri Tielemans (ankle) and Boubacar Kamara (knee) remain sidelined.
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, RG.org and Ratings.org. 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.