Confirmed Aston Villa line-up v Hull: Four summer recruits handed debuts
By Will Butcher
Steve Bruce has named four summer signings in his Aston Villa side to face Hull City at Villa Park in Saturday evening’s Championship tea-time kick-off.
Promotion expert Bruce will be looking for his side to start their bid to return to the Premier League at the second attempt with three points against his former side.
Albert Adomah, Jonathan Kodjia, Jack Grealish and Mile Jedinak are all sidelined for Villa, after suffering injuries during pre-seaosn.
Sam Johnstone starts in goal after completing a second loan move to Villa, while John Terry partners James Chester at the heart of the Midlands giants’ defence.
Ahmed El-Mohamady starts on the right flank in front of Alan Hutton with Adomah recovering from a shin injury, and Glenn Whelan starts in the middle of the park.
Villa revealed the side on their official Twitter account prior to Saturday evening’s clash:
With Pierluigi Gollini and Mark Bunn departing the club, Johnstone is preferred over reserve goalkeeper Jed Steer, while John Terry partners James Chester at centre-back.
Scotland international Hutton retains his place on the right side of defence with James Bree still looking for a chance, while Neil Taylor remains in front of Jordan Amavi.
Whelan, a summer signing from Stoke, starts alongside Henri Lansbury in the middle of the park with Leandro Bacuna likely to start on the left.
Another new signing El-Mohamady is on the right, and Gabriel Agbonlahor will partner injury-prone forward Scott Hogan up front.
Other new signings Chris Samba and Josh Onomah will be made to wait for their Villa bow.
In other Aston Villa news, here are three Hull players that can derail Bruce’s side.
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