Aston Villa’s 2-2 draw with Brentford contained positives and negatives both for Villa as a team as well as for individual players.
While some stood out and raised their stock, others may have damaged their chances of keeping their place in the starting 11 in the coming games.
Here are two players whose stock rose and and whose stock fell as a result of the stalemate at Villa Park:
Stock up: Matty Cash
Cash returned from international duty having played a lot of minutes and with a dead leg injury. It would not have been surprising if Aaron Wan-Bissaka started ahead of him, especially in a tricky matchup with in-form Kevin Schade.
Not only did Cash get the start, but he held up very well against Schade before the winger was forced off with injury.
With Matteo Ruggeri now dealing with a hamstring injury and Ian Maatsen also out, Wan-Bissaka may have to fill in at left-back for the foreseeable future.
That means the competition for Cash’s place at right-back has essentially disappeared for now, giving him even more of a chance to cement his standing in Unai Emery’s team and limiting Wan-Bissaka’s ability to acclimate to his new team on his natural right side.
Stock down: Tyrone Mings
Mings was given a vote of confidence by Emery, who picked him ahead of usual first-choice Pau Torres at left-centre-back. It was a logical choice given Brentford’s obvious threat from crosses and set pieces, and in fairness to Mings, he handled those responsibilities well.
However the overriding memory of Mings in this game will be the mistake he made in the build up to Brentford’s opening goal.
He was trapped by the press and either did not see, or was not comfortable playing a right-footed pass to break through. Mings dribbled into danger on the edge of his own box and played a poor diagonal pass, with Yehor Yarmolyuk scoring moments later.
Villa’s persistence with attempting to play through the press rather than bypassing it with longer balls was confusing, knowing the problems Brentford can cause with their aggression.
Regardless, they may have fared better if Torres was in the lineup, and Mings’ error will not help him keep his place in the starting 11, with the Spaniard likely to return to the side moving forward.
Stock up: Victor Lindelof
Lindelof is also in competition for his place at right-centre-back, but is holding off new signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who is yet to make a Premier League appearance for Villa since joining from Southampton.
The 32-year-old returned from playing every minute of four games for Sweden, slotted straight back into Emery’s defence and showed exactly why the spot is his. He turned in an accomplished performance in possession and was extremely active in defending Villa’s penalty area.
Saturday felt like a potential opportunity to give Harwood-Bellis a chance given Lindelof’s heavy workload during the international break and a busy schedule ahead.
But he clearly has Emery’s trust, and if he keeps putting in performances like Saturday, it will be very difficult to take him out of the team, especially as Harwood-Bellis is not even included in the Champions League squad.
Stock down: Emi Buendia
Another player fighting for his place is Buendia, who has plenty of competition to fend off.
He is still starting at the moment, due to a combination of his energy, experience in Emery’s system and his ability to create moments of quality, but he needs to keep it up with several young, exciting players vying for playing time.
Saturday was not his best game and he was substituted just after the hour mark for the second straight home game.
Ibrahim Mbaye and Alejandro Garnacho have more potential and are more dynamic, and unless Buendia makes himself undeniable, it feels like a matter of time before he is on the bench.
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