To the surprise and disappointment of some, Ross Barkley, Donyell Malen, and John McGinn will start on the bench for Aston Villa when the Villans travel to take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Unai Emery is instead going for a combination that balances might and power in the midfield with more forward- and attacking-minded players.
The attack will feature Ollie Watkins as he looks to become the sole owner of the club's Premier League goal-scoring record, which he currently shares with Gabriel Agbonlahor. Playing behind him will be the midfield trio of Marco Asensio, Jacob Ramsey, and Morgan Rogers.
This selection from the Spaniard shows an overall trust in the holding middies and backline. If he wanted a more industrious three-person selection in this area, Emery would have likely gone with McGinn or Barkley at one of those positions.
Instead, the Villa boss likely sees the need to have players in more forward areas who look to create more and find creative ways to get the ball to Watkins. It's a decision that will either look brilliant or have supporters moaning over the obvious error in the starting XI.
Looking to fill the void currently left by Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, and Amadou Onana will be in those holding roles that the Belgian would normally find himself in. Emery will count on these two to win their battles and allow the Villans further up the pitch to have the freedom to break down the Cherries' backline.
Defenders in Aston Villa starting XI
In front of Emiliano Martínez are Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, and Lucas Digne. The central pairing is one that will be scrutinized if things unravel, but this truthfully is one of the better CB duos in the EPL. Cash and Digne on the outside are excellent in joining the attack.
Someone will drop points during this match week because of how the schedule fell. The goal differential is working against Villa at the moment, but a win, even if by a goal, will put some pressure on either Newcastle or Chelsea, depending on how that fixture plays out.