Aston Villa put in a toothless performance in the 3-0 loss to Bournemouth which dumped them out of the Carabao Cup at the 4th round stage, but more than the lost opportunity for silverware, Wednesday night’s defeat was an ominous reminder of a looming issue for Unai Emery.
Marco Bizot made a shocking error for Bournemouth’s second goal which essentially put the tie out of reach, getting caught out at his near post by a Lewis Cook cross which was not especially hard-hit or deceptive.
His mistake continues a concerning run of form from the backup goalkeeper, stretching back to the latter stages of last season.
Bizot was a breath of fresh air when he arrived in the summer of 2025, taking over from Robin Olsen and providing a clear upgrade over Villa’s previous backup, who seemed to put the entire team on edge whenever he was in the lineup.
The veteran ‘keeper saw plenty of early action as Emi Martinez flirted with leaving the club, and Bizot was a safe pair of hands when called upon in the first half of the season.
But starting with his disastrous sending off against Newcastle United in the FA Cup last year, a steep decline has set in.
In his first ten games for Villa, Bizot earned an average match rating of 7.00 by WhoScored out of a possible ten. In the seven games he has played since then, his average rating is just 6.05.
Going back through some of those games, Bizot saw red against Newcastle, allowed Neco Williams to score at his near post from distance against Nottingham Forest, let in a shot which went straight at him during the UEFA Super Cup and conceded four against Brighton.
Most teams are not blessed with a backup goalkeeper they are happy to see in the lineup, but this is more of a problem for Villa, as they are set to lose starter Zion Suzuki to Asia Cup duty with Japan in January.
Japan’s first Asia Cup game is on 11th January, and the final of the 24-team tournament is on 5th February.
Even if Suzuki plays in Villa’s match against Everton on the 5th January and versus Bournemouth on 10th February (neither is a given), he would miss six Villa games if Japan make the final.
They are in a group with Qatar, Thailand and Indonesia, so Japan are likely to at least progress to the round of 16, especially as the four best third-placed teams will make it.
That means Suzuki is basically certain to miss Villa’s fixtures versus Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Fulham and Slavia Praha. If Japan get to the quarter-finals, Suzuki will also be absent for a match against Ipswich, and if they reach the final he will miss the Sunderland game.
There are some big matches in that run, and if Bizot plays how he has since his moment of madness against Newcastle, it could put Villa at a serious disadvantage during a tricky stretch.
Bizot is looking more and more like Olsen with every game he plays. His poor performance against Bournemouth forced Villa fans to think about what it will be like when Suzuki is not around in January, and right now it is a scary thought.
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