Football League World
·10 November 2022
Football League World
·10 November 2022
Unai Emery takes charge of his first EFL cup game as his Aston Villa looks to beat Manchester United for the second time this week.
Emery will be hoping his side can once again beat United after a 3-1 win at the weekend over Erik Ten Haag’s side.
It was a productive display that saw Villa take their chances against a United side who were unbeaten in nine in all competitions in the lead-up to the shock result at the weekend.
The former Arsenal boss lined his side up in a new look 4-2-2-2, a formation that worked well in the Spaniard’s time at Villareal.
A win here will be a major boost on what has been a disappointing season for the Villains who would have hoped to have been pushing for a top-eight push, as opposed to looking over their should at the bottom three and sacking Steven Gerrard.
The EFL Cup however presents a chance to win silverware which will no doubt be a huge motivation for Emery who has enjoyed success at every one of his clubs so far in his managerial career.
They will be hoping for the same with Villa looking for success in the EFL Cup for the first time since 1996, and could have a strong squad to choose from for this third round tie.
Diego Carlos is a long-term absentee and will be joined on the sidelines by Phillipe Coutinho who picked up a thigh injury meaning he will be out for the foreseeable.
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Boubacar Kamara returned from injury on Sunday, playing 12 minutes with Ludwig Augustinsson also returning to the matchday squad after injury with both likely to get minutes ahead of the World Cup break.
Squad players could be used in this game, with the likes of Ashley Young, Morgan Sanson and Callum Chambers potentially pushing for a chance to impress new boss Emery.
However, having beaten United at the weekend and with the World Cup break coming up, Emery could use this as a chance to go unchanged and pushed Erik Ten Haag’s side once again after their weekend victory.
The other absentees for this game are Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek who are both cup-tied after featuring for Wolves and Southampton in earlier ties.