5 days until Hull City: Projecting the Aston Villa opening XI

We’re officially five days from important Villa football! The claret and blue travel to the KCOM Stadium for matchweek 1 of the 2018/2019 EFL Championship. Let’s project the starting lineup.

Flashback to last season’s opening match, coincidentally against Hull City as well. When the lineup was announced, there were pair of shock decisions that almost seem shocking 12 months later. Leandro Bacuna started at left midfield, played 70 minutes, and was sold to Reading mere days later.

Seriously, Bacuna started the opening match and was transferred out in eight days.

Gabby Agbonlahor was the other shock inclusion, playing a full 90 minutes and scoring the opening goal inside the 8th minute. Oh, and did I mention it was assisted by Alan Hutton from the right back position?

Point being, the opening week will see a flurry of curious personnel decisions as Villa open the season: away to Hull on Monday the 6th, home to Wigan on the 11th, and away to Yeovil Town on the 14th (Carabao Cup).

With that said, let’s project the opening Aston Villa lineup to the best of our knowledge, using Steve Bruce’s tried-and-true 4-1-4-1 he utilized against Dynamo Dresden and the majority of last season:

Projected Aston Villa XI (4-1-4-1): Steer; Hutton, Chester, Jedinak, Taylor; Bjarnason; Adomah, Grealish, Hourihane, Green; Kodjia.

Substitutes: Moreira, Elphick, De Laet, Elmohamady, Whelan, Lansbury, Knibbs.

First observation: There is a dearth of attacking talent currently uninjured, which could give Harvey Knibbs a chance at making the bench Callum O’Hare, Scott Hogan, Keinan Davis, and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy all look doubtful. Could a loan player move quickly and break into the traveling eighteen?

22-year old ‘keeper André Moreira hasn’t officially been announced by Aston Villa, but he traveled with the squad to Germany, so let’s assume he’s in over Mark Bunn.

Mile Jedinak and Tommy Elphick are competing for the centre-back spot opposite James Chester, with the former winning out for now. Two-thirds of the central midfield looks set in Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane. Glenn Whelan and Birkir Bjarnason fight for the No. 6 role (or Jedinak, should Elphick feature at CB).

Right back is anyone’s guess between Hutton, De Laet, Elmohamady, and Bree.

Jimmy Danger features in attack.