Aston Villa stand on the edge of glory. While their Champions League may have ended by PSG, Unai Emery’s side have a wonderful chance to reach a first FA Cup final since 2015.
The club have not won this competition since 1957. Indeed, they haven’t won a major honour since 1996, and it would be fitting to finally end this drought under a man who has lifted them from the doldrums.
2014/15
Liverpool
Won 2-1
2009/10
Chelsea
Lost 3-0
1999/00
Bolton
Won 4-1 on penalties
1995/96
Liverpool
Lost 3-0
1959/60
Wolves
Lost 1-0
In midweek, the Midlands side suffered a 2-1 loss to Manchester City in the Premier League. While not disastrous, it represented a chance to cement their place in the top five of the table.
Several of the starting XI failed to perform as expected, most notably Boubacar Kamara in the heart of the midfield.
Why Emery must drop Boubacar Kamara
There is no doubt Kamara has been excellent when called upon this season, but against City, he didn’t quite look himself.
He played the full 90 minutes alongside Amadou Onana for Villa and succeeded with 87% of his passes, but the Frenchman could only win one of his seven contested ground duels, along with losing possession eight times.
Kamara also failed to make a single tackle during the match and was dribbled past on two occasions. Despite his tireless shift, it wasn’t enough to see Villa take home all three points.
With an FA Cup final place at stake this weekend, Emery might just switch things up ahead of the match against Crystal Palace.
This could see Kamara dropped from the starting XI, with Youri Tielemans slotting back into a deeper role.
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If so, there is only one man who should be deployed as Villa’s number ten – Marco Asensio.
Marco Asensio must be unleashed by Aston Villa
The Spaniard has been a truly inspired signing by Emery, even if it is just on a temporary basis.
Indeed, the former Real Madrid starlet has scored eight goals and chipped in with a solitary assist for the club across 20 matches.
In the Premier League, Asensio has created one big chance, averaging 1.3 key passes and succeeding in 58% of his dribble attempts.
These statistics are made even better considering he has started only five matches in the top flight since arriving back in January.
Dubbed as “world-class” by former Arsenal and Birmingham City defender Matthew Upson in March after his exploits against Club Brugge in the Champions League.
If the club have a chance of signing him on a permanent deal, then Emery must do everything in his power to do so.
Starting him against Palace at Wembley could give Villa the best chance of reaching the final of the competition, no doubt about that, because of the attacking quality that he can provide with his ability to both score and create.
The PSG loanee has scored twice in the tournament so far, netting a double against Cardiff. If he is unleashed, expect him to conjure up some more magic for the Villa faithful.
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