Dan Bardell's Aston Villa  Substack

Dan Bardell's Aston Villa Substack

This Is What You Are Here For....

Villa's loan stars are here for occasions like tonight......

Dan Bardell's avatar
Dan Bardell
Mar 04, 2025
∙ Paid
Share

When Aston Villa’s line-ups are stereotypically revealed 75 minutes before kick-off, you scan and hope/expect to see a few things.

Emi Martinez – check (phew),
Ollie Watkins – check,
2 sub goalkeepers – check,
2 fit centre-backs – not usually.

In recent weeks, you can add scanning to see if Asensio and Rashford are in the starting 11. Recently, away at Crystal Palace, they were not, as Emery threw in a surprise selection. In fact, Rashford has only started two games thus far, as Villa works on his match fitness and durability.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Dan Bardell
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture