Aston Villa host Sheffield United in the Premier League this evening and a win would take them top of the table, until Saturday at least.
If Liverpool and Arsenal draw, however, the Midlands side would be top of the top-flight at Christmas for the first time since 1998.
They eventually slumped to sixth during that campaign, but there is a feeling surrounding Unai Emery’s side that they will be aiming for much higher than that.
Aston Villa team news vs Sheffield United
Emery spoke to the media prior to the clash this evening and gave an update on several members of his squad, saying:
“Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendía are out, Bertrand Traoré is out.
“Youri Tielemans is out, Pau Torres is out tomorrow as well, as is Boubacar Kamara with the red card, he is suspended.
“The other players are ready. They trained this morning and they are going to be available for tomorrow.”
Emery benches Cash in Aston Villa's predicted lineup vs Sheff Utd
Aston Villa will be looking for another three league points against the Blades tomorrow
ByRoss KilvingtonDec 21, 2023
This means that the Villans are without a number of key first-team performers and could need to dip into his squad to find solutions this evening.
Kamara will miss the next three matches following his red card against Brentford last weekend, yet the Spaniard could replace him with a returning Douglas Luiz against the Blades tonight to ease the blow of losing the ex-Marseille star.
Douglas Luiz’s season in numbers
Luiz has missed just one match all campaign and that was the recent 2-1 win over Brentford due to a suspension, but he should return to the fold this evening.
The Brazilian has been in stunning form for Villa during the 2023/24 campaign, registering ten goal contributions – six goals and four assists – across 25 matches, and this sort of form has attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City ahead of the January transfer window.
Emery has valued one of his prized assets at £100m and he will be hoping this deters any potential bids next month as the former City starlet is too important to lose midway through the season.
Indeed, across the whole Villa squad in the Premier League, Luiz currently ranks first for overall Sofascore rating (7.46), while also ranking third for goals and assists (seven), second for accurate passes per game (52.8), and first for tackles per game (2.3).
Meanwhile, Kamara is joint-top of the squad with him on 2.3 tackles per match and has chipped in with zero goals and one assist in the top-flight.
These statistics clearly show that Luiz is shining over a variety of different metrics and his tough-tackling nature could ease the blow of losing the French battler as he can be the defensive force in midfield to cut out opposition attacks that the former Marseille man has been throughout the campaign.
Hailed as someone who is “clever with the ball” by City boss Pep Guardiola back in 2021, the midfielder has taken his game to a new level under Emery and this could eventually secure Villa a massive profit, given his currently £100m valuation and interest from Premier League giants.
At this current moment in time, however, the former Arsenal boss will not be entertaining any offers next month as Luiz is crucial to his side.
With Kamara missing out due to suspension, Emery must unleash Luiz straight back into the starting XI in midfield, and the £75k-per-week Brazilian will be keen on making up for missing the previous league match.
Emery knows exactly what a win would mean for the club, and they could enter Christmas by topping the league table with yet another domestic victory.