Aston Villa are sitting in the relegation zone right now after winning just once in their first six games. The Villans haven’t done too poorly in terms of performances, but they are just unable to get over the line by claiming a positive result. Last weekend against Arsenal they led twice along with being a man up, but they eventually lost 3-2. Dean Smith will need to pick his players up as they host Burnley at Villa Park this weekend.
Burnley will have a full week to prepare for this tie whereas Villa were busy in the League Cup. The Villans went past Brighton reasonably comfortably, but the Clarets will be a big challenge even though Smith’s men will be at home. The West Midlands outfit has an impressive record against Villa in recent times as they have lost only one of their last eight top-flight meetings with them.
Team News: Experienced defender James Chester is still unavailable. Jonathan Kodjia is also expected to miss out. Apart from that, Smith will have a fully fit squad to choose from ahead of this weekend’s encounter against Sean Dyche’s men.
Aston Villa Predicted Lineup Vs Burnley
Formation (4-3-3)
Defence
Experienced England international Tom Heaton will continue in between the sticks. Tyrone Mings is expected to return to the lineup, and he should be partnered by Björn Engels who has managed to catch the eye so far this season.
Frédéric Guilbert is expected to start on the right side of the defence after Ahmed Elmohamady played the midweek game. The French fullback will look to utilise his impressive pace to trouble the Burnley backline. Neil Taylor has looked average at best, and we think that its time for Smith to deploy his summer signing Matt Targett as the left-back.
Midfield
Marvelous Nakamba is expected to start as the defensive midfielder. Douglas Luiz played in the midweek game so he could miss out. John McGinn has looked impressive so far, and he has been one of Villa’s best players this season. The Scotsman will start in midfield. Villa captain Jack Grealish’s performances have been patchy so far, but he provided an impressive assist against Arsenal. He will look to contribute more in the attacking third.
Attack
Spanish attacker Jota could get the nod to start on the right flank as an inverted winger. The left-wing spot could be occupied by another new summer signing Trezeguet. Anwar El Ghazi might have to miss out this weekend. Wesley Moraes is going to be an obvious pick to start as the man upfront.
