Predicted Aston Villa Lineup To Face Bolton Wanderers In The EFL Championship
Aston Villa have had an up and down week, after their good work against Wolves at the weekend was undone by losing 3-1 at home to Queens Park Rangers. This result leaves them with a mountain to climb and not many games to do it in if they wish to automatically make it to the Premier League this season.
Steve Bruce said that this side ‘choked’ on Tuesday night and that he will be thinking about freshening up his lineup for the journey away to Bolton. Normally, the Macron is a tough place to go but Bolton are sitting 20th in the table and are starting to look over their shoulders with only 6 points between them and the drop zone.
Team News
Neil Taylor added to Villa’s growing fullback crisis against QPR after he went off with a sore groin. He joins Alan Hutton and Axel Tuanzebe on the treatment table, neither of whom will be back before the international break. Johnathan Kodjia is out until April with a broken ankle, and Glenn Whelan will also be back at a similar time. Villa are also missing Andre Green, Jed Steer and Jordan Lyden.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
GK – Sam Johnstone
The young English goalkeeper could do very little about any of QPR’s goals on Tuesday. He is a commanding presence at the back for Villa.
LB – James Bree
If Steve Bruce is right and Neil Taylor can’t recover in time for the weekend, it may be time for James Bree’s second start in an Aston Villa shirt.
CB – James Chester
3 goals in 3 games for the former Hull defender and despite this, he will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing defensive display against QPR.
CB – John Terry
John Terry is the heart of the Aston Villa team and a setback like the one this Tuesday won’t stop him. He will drive his team this weekend.
RB – Ahmed Elmohamady
The 30-year-old can always put in an inviting cross but needs to tighten up defensively. He may be feeling the effects of a long season but will dig deep to find a performance in this game.
LM – Albert Adomah
The tricky winger has been a bright spark for Villa when things were going their way but he will want to have more of an impact in tight games like the one this weekend.
CM – Birkir Bjarnason
With Glenn Whelan out and Jedinak playing 90 minutes on Tuesday, it must be Birkir’s turn at the weekend. Looks comfortable on the ball whenever he plays and he is becoming a fan favourite.
CM – Conor Hourihane
He couldn’t repeat his Wolves performance against QPR but his effort was appreciated by both the fans and his manager.
RM – Robert Snodgrass
Did everything he could to pull Villa back into the game against QPR but wasn’t able to do so. He will have a chance to do the same again this weekend.
AM – Jack Grealish
Grealish has been a player reborn this season and had a chance to put Villa ahead against QPR. The game against Bolton may be a chance to give him a more free role than he has had in the past.
ST – Lewis Grabban
The on-loan striker has been having a brilliant time in Birmingham and despite a disappointing evening on Tuesday, he will be confident of adding to his goal tally, against Bolton.