Aston Villa team news as Ollie Watkins OUT against Tottenham Hotspur

Unai Emery has named his starting eleven and substitutes for today’s Premier League match away against Tottenham Hotspur.

Emery has made two changes to his Aston Villa line-up to face Spurs from the team that beat Burnley 2-1 in the last game before the October international break.

Those international matches have come at a cost for Villa, who will start the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without striker Ollie Watkins after he collided with the goalpost in the first half of England’s win against Wales.

Villa have also been able to name Emi Buendía and Jadon Sancho on the bench.

Buendía went off with a concerning head injury late in the Burnley game but has suffered no long-term effects. Sancho returns after a spell away from the team because of illness.

Watkins injured on international duty

The Villa centre-forward returned to the club before England played Latvia and is fit enough to be named on the bench this afternoon, but is one of a pair of changes to the team.

Amadou Onana returns to the starting line-up in the other change. The midfielder featured very briefly for Villa on his return to injury against Burnley and played a big role for Belgium in the international match window.

Watkins has been replaced by Evann Guessand with Donyell Malen presumably taking on even more of a central role, though Guessand himself could be a wildcard striker option Thomas Frank might not be expecting.

Onana comes in for Lamare Bogarde, who has been in terrific form but will lose none of his impetus as a result of Emery opting for robustness in north London this afternoon. It’s now on Onana to repay that preference.

Read more ➡️ How to watch Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa: kick-off time, TV channels and streams

Villa team v Spurs in full

Starting line-up: Martínez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Guessand, Rogers, Malen

Substitutes: Bizot, Maatsen, Lindelöf, Barkley, Watkins, Sancho, Buendía, Elliott, Bogarde

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