Health is often the main factor that determines how a team will do over the course of a season. Aston Villa, to this point, are staying strong in terms of injuries. There was an earlier concern regarding Morgan Rogers during the preseason. As shared on X by The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell, though, the ankle appears to no longer be something to worry about. Only Ross Barkley and Andrés García have been listed on the report by Tanswell. Those names are carryovers from the opening match against Newcastle United.
All in all, this is a healthy Villa squad that will be at the full force of their ability, particularly in the attack. This should be able to translate better to having more control over the match, even away from Villa Park.
There is the additional welcomed return of Emiliano Martínez. Although Marco Bizot did perform quite well and maintained a clean sheet during his first match in the claret and blue, it is still a great sight to see the world's number one back between the posts.
While injuries are not a concern, Villa will be without a notable player in Ezri Konsa. The center-back picked up a red card against Newcastle as the last defender and will, of course, be serving his suspension for one match against Brentford.
Encouraging development for Aston Villa
Although depth is something of a concern and Unai Emery has made his stance clear on the desire to bring on more players, there are still plenty of options for the Villa boss as he will look to guide his side to the first set of three points of the season.
Hopefully, fortune remains with the Villans this year; at this point, there do not appear to be any lingering concerns outside of Barkley and García from the preseason, and there are also not any additional worries being reported as of now.