Aston Villa team news as midfielder returns in only change to line-up against Leeds United
Manager Unai Emery has named his Aston Villa team for this afternoon’s Premier League meeting with Leeds United at Elland Road.
Villa take on newly promoted Leeds knowing that their recent record both at Elland Road and against this opposition has been positive. Leeds haven’t beaten Villa since a 3-0 win at Villa Park in the latter’s first season back in the Premier League.
Emery has made a single change to the starting eleven that hammered AFC Bournemouth, with Amadou Onana unable to be selected even on the substitutes’ bench after picking up a problem on international duty with Belgium.
Onana’s absence created a space on the bench and it’s been filled not by loanee Harvey Elliott but by 18-year-old George Hemmings, who caught the eye during a number of excellent performances in pre-season friendlies. It’s the first time Hemmings has been named in a matchday squad in the Premier League.
Tielemans returns
Onana’s absence gave Emery the easiest decision he’ll have to make all week.
It’s a shame the Belgium midfielder isn’t available after a decent run but it resolve the question over how to bring Youri Tielemans, his international captain, back into the starting eleven.
Tielemans hasn’t started a game since he went off injured against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the middle of September. Since rejoining the squad, he has appeared as a substitute against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
He led Belgium to a World Cup 2026 spot during the November international break but played limited minutes against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. He should be fit and firing in the middle of the pitch for Villa at Elland Road this afternoon.
Aston Villa team news in full
Starting XI: Martínez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Buendía, Watkins
Substitutes: Bizot, Lindelöf, Bogarde, Barkley, Maatsen, Hemmings, Malen, Sancho, Guessand
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