Three Aston Villa players who must be axed vs Man City after Go Ahead Eagles embarrassment
Unai Emery will be expected to make wholesale changes before Aston Villa take on Man City in the Premier League.
Villa suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday, 23 October, with Mathis Suray and Mats Deijl inspiring a comeback for the Dutch side in the Netherlands.
It was even more surprising after Evann Guessand opened the scoring after just four minutes, and one of Villa’s most in-form players in Emi Buendia, missed a penalty in the final 15 minutes.
The Villans’ 2025-26 campaign takes yet another twist, and if they are to climb further up the Premier League table on Sunday, 26 October, it will be vital that all three points are claimed against the Citizens.
With that in mind, these three players deserve to be dropped after the underwhelming display away from Villa Park.
Victor Lindelof
There was not too much bad to say about Victor Lindelof in the Netherlands, other than the fact that he really offered nothing going forward, and lasted just 66 minutes on the pitch.
Jeremy Doku is in fine form for Man City, and with the Belgian winger likely to be starting on Sunday, Matty Cash will need to be at his absolute best to mark the game-changer out of the match.
It is likely the reason that Cash was rested for their European trip, but having gone 2-1 down to Go Ahead Eagles, an entire night on the bench was not totally possible for the Poland international.
Tyrone Mings
Tyrone Mings might have been a threat from set-pieces, but inside his own 18-yard box, his defending left a lot to be desired. That simply cannot happen against Erling Haaland.
Ezri Konsa was given a well-deserved rest, having also gone away with England on international duty this month, but he could be vital if Villa are to get anything from their trip to the Etihad.
| Tyrone Mings vs Go Ahead Eagles | Stats [FotMob] |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 93% (54/58) |
| Shooting accuracy | 0% (0/2) |
| Dispossessed | 2 |
| Ground duels won | 0% (0/3) |
| Fouls committed | 1 |
Mings was just too slow to second balls and made a mess of some of his clashes throughout the game. Unsurprisingly, the Villans’ sloppiness was punished by Go Ahead Eagles.
Evann Guessand
Guessand is bound to be a controversial choice, having opened the scoring in the Netherlands. However, there was a sense of good fortune as the ball was kicked into him.
Other than scoring in the first four minutes, the 24-year-old missed multiple other chances to hit the back of the net, his crossing was absolutely atrocious, and he failed to win back possession several times.
Villa are unlikely to see much possession against Pep Guardiola‘s side, so when they do win the ball back, attacks will need to be fast, precise, and fatal. He was none of those things in the Europa League defeat.