TACTICAL RESILIENCE: HOW UNAI EMERY KEEPS ASTON VILLA THIRD DESPITE MOUNTING INJURY WOES
Unai Emery confirms new injury: Get the details on Andres Garcia and Harvey Elliott before Villa’s crucial trip to Molineux today.
Aston Villa are heading into their derby against Wolves missing yet another player after a new injury cropped up, reports say.
Tonight, Villa make the short trip to Molineux for what, honestly, should be a routine win. Wolves are stuck at the bottom of the Premier League table with just 10 points from 27 games, only one win all year, and really, nobody’s expecting them to survive.
Villa’s story couldn’t be more different. They’re flying high in third, hunting for a Champions League spot, and they’ve been one of the league’s most impressive sides so far.
Unai Emery isn’t letting his players get comfortable, though. He’s quick to remind them that nothing’s guaranteed; Wolves managed to hold Arsenal to a 2-2 draw at Molineux not long ago. Still, everyone expects Villa to show up, get the job done, and head home with the points.
The real headache for Emery? Injuries. Lots of them.
John McGinn’s still out with that knee injury from January; he probably won’t be back until March. Youri Tielemans messed up his ankle during the win over Newcastle, and he won’t return before the next international break either. That’s three midfielders missing, and each one’s a big loss.
Now, according to Birmingham Live and The Athletic, Villa have another problem. Andres Garcia picked up a hamstring injury, and he’s out for a while. The timing’s awful for him; he’s barely played since arriving in January 2025, and Matty Cash only just came back from his own knee injury.
Suddenly, Villa’s full-back options look pretty thin. If Cash gets hurt again, Emery’s choices are limited.
And it’s not just the defence. Harvey Elliott, on loan from Liverpool, is still unavailable for the trip. His season at Villa Park has been bizarre. He barely played for months because the club didn’t want to trigger a £35 million buy clause in his loan, only to realise it only counted for Premier League games. He’s played seven times in the league this year, but now he’s out again – another headache Emery really doesn’t need.
On the bright side, Alysson, who joined in January, could feature this weekend after recovering from his own injury.
“Alysson is coming back; I think normally he will come back in the squad for tomorrow,” Emery said at Thursday’s press conference. “In case he’s training this afternoon, we’re going to train this afternoon. The other players, with the players we know are out, hopefully will be available for tomorrow.”
SUNDERLAND CONDEMNS "VILE" RACIST ABUSE AIMED AT BRIAN BROBBEY AFTER SPURS WIN
Brian Brobbey targeted online! Sunderland and the Premier League unite against "vile" discrimination after Spurs win.
Sunderland called out the racist abuse aimed at Brian Brobbey on social media and made it clear they stand fully behind him.
Brobbey was targeted online right after Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, the club released a statement: “Sunderland condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist abuse directed at Brian Brobbey on social media following Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham. We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Sunderland players have had to deal with this kind of abuse this season. After February’s match against Fulham, Romaine Mundle received hateful messages online, and last month the Tyne-Wear derby had to be paused when someone in the crowd reportedly aimed abuse at Lutsharel Geertruida.
The club’s statement continued: “This isn’t an isolated event. The recent abuse aimed at Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida shows just how often and how unacceptably this keeps happening, both at matches and on the internet. We’ve reported this latest incident to the Premier League, the social media platforms, and the police, and we expect them to act quickly against the people responsible. Racism is vile, and it doesn’t belong in football or anywhere else. We’ll keep calling it out, clearly and without hesitation, every time it happens. Football should be safe and welcoming for everyone, no exceptions.”
The Premier League is backing Brobbey as well. In a post on their X account, they said they’re “disgusted by the ongoing discrimination” players keep facing online. “We stand alongside Sunderland in strongly condemning the online racist abuse Brian Brobbey has received and have offered our full support to him and the club. We are disgusted by the ongoing discrimination players are facing on social media and are committed to working with clubs, authorities, law enforcement, and social media companies to address this issue, as well as supporting investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone found guilty of discrimination will face the toughest possible punishments: jail time, football bans, and even a criminal record.”
DAVID MOYES REVEALS "NERVES" AS EVERTON HUNT HISTORIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOT
David Moyes admits Everton's Champions League hunt is nerve-wracking. See the latest on the Toffees' battle for Europe.
David Moyes admits the idea of Everton making the Champions League this soon in their rebuild actually makes him “shake a wee bit.”
You look at the club now, and it's hard to believe where they were just 14 months ago. When Moyes returned, Everton looked beaten down from years of fighting to stay up. Suddenly, with only seven games left, they’re sitting eighth. That spot could mean Europa Conference League football, but after their win against Chelsea before the break, they’re now just three points off fourth. It’s wild to even talk about the Champions League, but it’s right there in reach.
Reporters put the question to him how does it feel to be this close? With Europe’s spots possibly extending down to fifth (or maybe even further, depending on how other English clubs do), Moyes wasn’t hiding his nerves: “It’s probably the best shot we’ve had in a long time. But when I hear ‘Champions League’? Makes me shake a wee bit, honestly. I’ve been lucky to manage in Europe’s other competitions lately, and if we do make it, I’m sure we’d be able to hold our own at certain stages. Still, the Champions League is just on another level.”
Everton’s next match at Brentford looks huge for their European dreams. Brentford beat them earlier in the season, and right now, both teams are level, separated only by goal difference.
Moyes is clearly enjoying this chapter. “Listen, Europe’s Europe. If someone had said at the start, ‘You’re going to get European football,’ we’d have snapped their hand off. It could be the tiddlywinks European cup, and we’d be up for it. Evertonians want the club back in those conversations. We’re getting attention for the new stadium, we’ve got a couple of England internationals getting noticed more, it’s a good time. If we do sneak into the Champions League, it’d be an unbelievable achievement. But honestly, no matter which competition we make, it’s still a big step forward for us.”
