Emery must now boldly axe £120k-p/w Aston Villa ace

Aston Villa stumbled to a disappointing 3-0 loss to Newcastle United on Boxing Day after a dubious red card decision meant Unai Emery’s side had to play nearly an hour with ten men.

Jhon Duran will now be suspended for this Premier League clash with Brighton and Hove Albion back at Villa Park to see out 2024, therefore, as the Spaniard attempts to put together an XI that can immediately bounce back.

Away from some obvious alterations – with Matty Cash also suspended for this tie with the Seagulls owing to too many yellow cards – Emery could also be preparing to drop Boubacar Kamara for Villa’s final home contest of the year.

Kamara’s performance vs Newcastle

All in all, not many players from a Villa perspective could walk off at the end of the sobering 3-0 defeat with their heads held high, with Kamara being one that would have felt he could have offered a lot more on another day.

Emery would hook him off with about 20 minutes left to play having been largely underwhelmed by the Frenchman’s efforts, after seeing him bravely battle all afternoon long against Manchester City before this timid showing on Tyneside.

In truth, Eddie Howe’s hosts bullied Kamara and Co in the middle of the park throughout the one-sided game, as Joelinton ended up helping himself to a goal and an assist whilst the likes of Youri Tielemans visibly struggled alongside the quiet Villa number 44.

Only registering 35 touches of the ball compared to Sandro Tonali’s mammoth 90, this contest with Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton could give Emery the perfect chance to gift Kamara a rest after he was way off the pace of the game at St James’ Park, especially as the 25-year-old is also only recently back from a long-term injury.

Kamara might not be the only change to come in the midfield ranks, however, as Emery must be contemplating dropping this first team regular for the game later on.

McGinn’s performance vs Newcastle

Dropping out of the main XI twice this season already in the Premier League, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for the ex-Arsenal boss to drop John McGinn for the test of Brighton tonight.

After all, the £120k-per-week Villa captain was very passive in the heavy defeat to the Toon, with just 23 touches coming his way among other underwhelming numbers.

McGinn’s performance in numbers
Stat	McGinn
Minutes played	80
Touches	23
Accurate passes	11/16 (69%)
Accurate crosses	0/1
Key passes	0
Shots on goal	0
Successful dribbles	0/1
Total duels won	3/6
Stats by Sofascore

Away from very rarely getting on the ball, the Scotsman would only register 11 accurate passes when he was played into the contest, alongside failing to muster up a single accurate cross or dribble as his side fell to a humbling loss on their travels.

Often shining bright for his side as a tireless presence who is more than capable of chipping in with a goal or assist, McGinn will hope this was just an off-day from his point of view, on the way to returning to his best as games come thick and fast heading into 2025.

But, regardless of Emery also labelling McGinn as “amazing” in the past, nobody’s spot in the team will be certain after the harrowing away trip to Newcastle, with the experienced 30-year-old potentially having to make do with a spot on the substitutes bench.

That would open up an opportunity for Leon Bailey or Jaden Philogene-Bidace to start instead, with Bailey one face that is eager to get his stuttering Villans career back up and running.

Emery will just pray that whatever alterations are made his side can get back to winning ways on their own turf after a severe reality check was handed to them on Tyneside.