Marcus Rashford excluded from Aston Villa starting XI against Nottingham | OneFootball

Every match is going to have a significant Aston Villa player start on the bench. The last game against Brighton saw Marco Asensio come on in the second half and make a difference. He's getting the start on Saturday against Nottingham Forest.

Unai Emery likely saw how much of a shift there was when the Spanish midfielder stepped foot on the pitch and knew he couldn't afford to leave him out of the starting XI again. Joining him are Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans, as they will look to control the center of the field for the Villans.

Morgan Rogers, Donyell Malen, and Ollie Watkins will be in the attack. This trio up front has a lot of power and should be able to make life very difficult for the Nottingham defense. As long as Asensio is in the lineup, these forward-positioned players should be able to have their fair share of chances and reward Emery's trust with a goal or two.

Naturally, Emiliano Martínez is in goal. The back four sees some changes as well, however. Andrés García and Ian Maatsen will start at outside back, while Axel Disasi and Tyrone Mings form the center-back partnership. Garcia impressed while stepping in last week, and Ezri Konsa will start on the bench.

Making use of the entire Aston Villa selection

A lot has been made of the depth of this AVFC side. At the end of the day, having it doesn't do anyone any good if Emery isn't going to use it. There are a number of games in the upcoming condensed schedule, and it makes sense to rotate the positions throughout the lineup.

What's more, even someone like Marcus Rashford, who is coming off some excellent games for Villa, can't be expected to play all 90 minutes of each match. Depending on how things pan out against Forest, someone like him could be brought on to make a difference. Ideally, the England international is able to take a well-earned day off, as there will be plenty of Aston Villa games in the next two months for him.