Aston Villa return to domestic action in the Premier League later this afternoon as Unai Emery’s side prepare to welcome Fulham to Villa Park.
The Spanish head coach is looking to mastermind the team’s first win in the league this season, having managed three draws and two defeats in five matches so far.
A goal from John McGinn was enough for the Villans to grab the win against Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday night, but it was not a perfect performance.
Emery may look to make some alterations to his starting line-up from that win over the Serie A outfit, and Morgan Rogers is one player who should drop out.
Why Morgan Rogers should be dropped
The England international started in the number ten position against Bologna and was booed by a small section of supporters because he failed to put in an impressive display.
The “harsh”, as Jay Bothroyd said, boos came during a performance that included Rogers losing the ball a staggering 29 times in the match, more than any other player on the pitch, per Sofascore.
A pass completion rate of 42% across 90 minutes of football is not good enough for an Aston Villa player, which is why he should be dropped from the line-up to bring Ollie Watkins back in, with Donyell Malen dropping deeper.
Rogers is not the only player who should be dropped from the XI, though. Emery must also ruthlessly ditch summer signing Evann Guessand from the team to face Fulham.
Why Evann Guessand should be dropped alongside Morgan Rogers
Villa’s England international was not the only attacker who failed to perform against Bologna in midweek, as Guessand struggled badly on the right wing at Villa Park.
The summer signing from Nice, who was described as “electric” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, won three of his 11 duels and completed just six passes in 90 minutes against the Italian outfit, per Sofascore.
Unfortunately, the Ivorian flop’s form in the Premier League since his move to the club has not been much better, having started two of his four outings in the division to date.
Appearances
4
Starts
2
Goals
0
Big chances missed
1
Big chances created
0
Key passes per game
0.0
Assists
0
Dribble success rate
11%
As you can see in the table above, Guessand has been incredibly ineffective at the top end of the pitch for Villa in the Premier League, with no chances created in four matches.
A dribble success rate of 11% also shows that opposition defenders have found it far too easy to get the better of him in one-on-one situations, which may be why he has struggled to create or score any goals for the Villans.
His complete lack of impact in the final third in the Premier League could open the door for Emery to bring Jadon Sancho into the starting XI on the wing, after his eight-minute cameo against Sunderland last time out in the division.
The England international created two chances in 74 minutes in his first start for the club against Brentford in the League Cup, which is more than Guessand has created in 348 minutes in all competitions for Villa, per Sofascore.
This is why Emery must ruthlessly ditch the Ivorian attacker from the starting line-up alongside Rogers, with Watkins and Sancho coming in to replace them.