Matchweek 2: Aston Villa host revamped Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic were able to keep hold of their star midfielder Nick Powell despite wide-ranging interest in the Premier League and English Championship. Aston Villa host the revamped Latics on Saturday.

With the English transfer window closed shut, all 24 EFL Championship clubs have their squads finalized. Well, at least for the most part. Loans can still be negotiated, as can player outgoings to foreign leagues whose windows remain open.

So, for now, Aston Villa are finished bringing-in permanent transfers after the acquisitions of John McGinn and Ørjan Nyland.

Saturday is the opening match at Villa Park and the opponent is Wigan Athletic, fresh off promotion and a victorious three points last weekend. Led by League One Player of the Season Nick Powell, The Latics will prove a fruitful opponent. They had quite the Deadline Day, signing Ipswich’s Joe Garner, Rangers’ Josh Windass, loaning Everton’s Callum Connolly, and selling Dan Burn to Brighton with a return loan.

In totality, this might be a far different Wigan side from the team that pushed three behind Sheffield Wednesday one week ago. Nick Powell and Will Grigg lead the Latics’ attack with Sam Morsy anchoring in midfield and exciting United States prospect Antonee Robinson at left back. It’s unclear how many of the above signings will be involved, but I wager a few will feature on the bench.

For Aston Villa, it’s mostly status quo. There are no new injuries that we know of.

Aston Villa Projected XI (4-1-4-1): Nyland; Hutton, Elphick, Chester, Taylor; Whelan; Elmohamady, Hourihane, Grealish, Adomah; Kodjia.

Substitutes: Moreira, Tuanzebe, Bree, Lansbury, McGinn, Bjarnason, Green.

Steve Bruce may elect to go with the exact same starting XI that defeated Hull City on Monday. *Update: Steve Bruce revealed Jed Steer would be joining Charlton on-loan.*

For one reason, the squad is a little more rested than the typical midweek match with all of: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to recover. Moreover, this match gives time for the new signings to gel with a Carabao Cup match-up with Yeovil Town next week acting as a buffer. After that, Steve Bruce can unleash his strongest side.

Jed Steer gets a chance to replicate his solid form in net as new No. 1 Nyland settles for a seat on the bench. Ritchie De Laet is still suspended so Hutton, Elmo and Bree all make the squad. Axel Tuanzebe plays second-fiddle to Tommy Elphick while John McGinn replaces Gary Gardner on the bench.

Hepburn-Murphy misses out in this simulation, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him make it over Henri Lansbury or Birkir Bjarnason, as carrying three central midfielders is a bit excessive. André Green could start, too, over Albert Adomah or Elmohamady.

WHEN: Saturday, August 11, 2018 / 3 p.m. GMT, 10 a.m. EST

TV: None, streaming available through AVTV ($)