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Aston Villa vs. Bolton Wanderers: Expected Starting XI

By Josh Tonti

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 13: Jack Grealish of Aston Villa and of Josh Scowen of Queens Park Rangers in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers at Villa Park on March 13, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images,)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 13: Jack Grealish of Aston Villa and of Josh Scowen of Queens Park Rangers in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers at Villa Park on March 13, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images,) /
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James Bree: Left Back. Aston Villa travel to play Bolton Wanderers on Saturday without a senior left-sided defender. 20-year old fullback James Bree is expected to switch flanks at Macron Stadium.

Here we go.

Fresh off a shocking 3-1 home defeat to QPR, Steve Bruce and the claret and blues get a shot at redemption. Aston Villa travel to northwest England in a match-up against the Championship’s 20th-placed side, Bolton.

Bolton, quite frankly, are not very good, their -24 goal differential on the season is 4th-worst in the league. They particularly struggle to score with just 32 goals in 37 matches. Their leading striker Gary Madine, who had ten of those strikes, was shipped to Cardiff City in January. Two of their 37 were own goals.

That said, QPR were not a strong team either, and they proceeded to stifle Aston Villa midweek. Bolton manager Phil Parkinson will assess midfield leader Darren Pratley before the match. Other than that, they carry no additional injuries.

Projected Aston Villa XI (4-1-4-1): Johnstone; Elmohamady, Chester, Terry (c), Bree; Bjarnason; Snodgrass, Grealish, Hourihane, Adomah; Hogan.

The loss to QPR exacerbated the need to change things up. Steve Bruce confirmed 20-year old right back James Bree will take Neil Taylor’s place on the left. The Wales international is out through the break with a groin strain. Additionally, defenders Alan Hutton and Axel Tuanzebe remain out. Elsewhere, I expect Scott Hogan to take over for Lewis Grabban up top. Grabban had a poor match against Rangers, but this is more about Hogan rekindling the chemistry with the attacking midfield trio of Adomah, Grealish, Snodgrass.

Mile Jedinak was equally as poor so Birkir Bjarnason could get the nod.

Next: Villa vs. Bolton: Trio of Fullback Injuries

Substitutes: Bunn, Samba, Jedinak, Lansbury, Onomah, Grabban, Davis.

This is surely the return of Christopher Samba, no? There are no reserve defenders remaining unless you see Jedinak as a center back. Elsewhere, watch out for Henri Lansbury. He could be a shock starter over Conor Hourihane, who has logged heavy minutes this season and struggled intermittently.

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