After a full week off, Aston Villa return to league play with an away match against Wigan Athletic. The claret and blue will have a number of new faces returning from injury.
Steve Bruce received some positive news during the week. Jack Grealish and Scott Hogan both trained ahead of Saturday’s match after multiple weeks off. Both should be good bets to feature on the bench, adding a new level of dynamism late in the match.
Aston Villa will still be without several players, however. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Gabby Agbonlahor, and Birkir Bjarnason are still a handful of weeks away from training. Henri Lansbury is a question mark after just a single day of training. André Green is close to a return, while Leandro Bacuna continues his six match suspension. Moreover, Nathan Baker is out after sustaining a knee injury.
As a result, manager Steve Bruce had this to say:
💬⚽️ Press Conference: Steve Bruce - "Mile Jedinak will play centre-back tomorrow. He was excellent there against Sheffield Wednesday." pic.twitter.com/NesA2Q5MOa
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 17, 2017
Bruce clearly does not favor Tommy Elphick in central defense. Therefore, Jedinak will partner James Chester in the back line.
PROJECTED ASTON VILLA XI (4-4-1-1): Johnstone; Bree, Chester (c), Jedinak, Taylor; Adomah, Lansbury, Hourihane, Amavi; Grealish; Kodjia.
Substitutes: Bunn, Elphick, Hutton, Richards, Blackett-Taylor, Hogan, Davis.
Steve Bruce could go a number of different directions on Saturday – much of it depending on health. He may ditch the 4-3-3 due to Mile’s movement to central defense. Otherwise, he may regret playing Lansbury in a number six role.
A flat 4-4-1-1 allows central midfielders Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury free range to act as conduits between the defense and Jonathan Kodjia. Should Jack Grealish be fit enough to start, he will look to add to his three league goals.
Next: Johnstone, Villa Growing In Confidence
It is tough to predict who Bruce will turn to, but it should be a muted point. Wigan is struggling this campaign; they are currently in 23rd-place, a full five points from safety.
Whatever the case, this is a match Villa should win comfortably. Kickoff is 11:00AM.