Aston Villa have their team captain, John McGinn, back from his thigh injury. He’s passed fit to feature on Sunday, when the Villans host West Ham. Said Aston Villa manager Unai Emery of McGinn: “John is starting to train with the group; he’s working with us.”
Meanwhile Ross Barkley (calf/shin/heel) is still out, with Emery saying today: “Ross is still not available.”
West Ham United at Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Sun Jan. 26, 4:30pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Team News: West Ham United Aston Villa
Starting XI Predictions: West Ham United Aston Villa
Google Result Probability: Aston Villa 63% Draw 21% West Ham 16%
Aston Villa Team News
Elsewhere Pau Torres (ankle/foot) is still out, with Emery revealing on Friday: “Pau will need more time to try to be close with us.” And the same goes for Amadou Onana (thigh).
“Onana is working alone,” Emery said.
Other than these four, AVFC are a fully fit squad at this point. And while they’re pretty healthy right now, they’re still nowhere near where they want to be, in the current table.
Aston Villa are four points outside the top four, and two points from the top six.
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America 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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.