Senior quartet axed in Bruce 4-4-2: Aston Villa best possible XI to face Barnsley
COMMENT by Amir Mir
Aston Villa should make five changes to their team when they take on Barnsley in a Championship clash on Tuesday night.
Steve Bruce should axe the senior quartet of Jonathan Kodjia, Alan Hutton, Tommy Elphick and Birkir Bjarnason. Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone is the other name who should face the chop.
As a result, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Leandro Bacuna, Andre Green, Albert Adomah and Mark Bunn should come into the team.
Villa lost their previous encounter 1-0 to Ipswich at the weekend – their third consecutive loss and sixth defeat in 2017.
Bruce needs to toughen up and make some serious changes, including playing the youngsters because truthfully, the playoffs have now well and truly gone.
Starting with academy product Hepburn-Murphy, he would showcase his raw talent in front of the supporters, replacing Kodjia, who has been wasteful in recent weeks.
Green and Adomah are the other two players who should be brought in to provide the service, alongside Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury.
Teenager Green has been one of Villa’s best players during their slump, yet Bruce opts to leave a player who makes things happen in the final third, sit on the bench.
Furthermore, in defence centre-back Elphick and right-back Hutton simply must be dropped after their abysmal display against the Tractor Boys.
The duo are now a liability and with youngster James Bree out injured, Bacuna should fit into the right-hand side of defence with Adomah coming in for Gren as Bruce should change formation.
On-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has so far been a nightmare between the sticks. His mistakes have been costly and it is now time to kiss goodbye to the number one shirt.
As a result, Bunn should come in because despite his faults, he just has more experience than the United youngster.
In other Aston Villa team news, John Gregory has delivered his verdict on this star player and compared him with Lee Hendrie.
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