Aston Villa could be without five key players at Leeds United, Unai Emery rules England star out

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There really are no excuses for Daniel Farke when Leeds United host Aston Villa at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon, after the German manager confirmed he has a clean bill of health.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is fit again after only managing a substitute appearance against Nottingham Forest while Willy Gnonto is available for selection, after a niggling calf issue and a hernia operation.

Farke has everyone at his disposal. It means fans will want to see the right team picked an hour before kick-off. But for Unai Emery, things are slightly more complicated ahead of this afternoon’s outing.

Emery might well only be missing one player for the trip to Elland Road, but he could also be without five key players to take on Farke’s men. The former Arsenal and PSG gaffer has ruled out Tyrone Mings.

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Unai Emery could be missing Aston Villa quintet at Leeds United

Mings has endured a nightmare with injuries, and often, a player who earns criticism from the Elland Road support, the England star will be missing. Mings could be the only one to miss out, but four are doubts.

During the international break, Sky Sports reports that Amadou Onana [Belgium], Matty Cash [Poland], Ezri Konsa [England] and Lamare Bogarde all picked up knocks. Emery confirmed late calls are required.

“They are training,” Emery said. “Amadou is progressing well. Tomorrow we’ll see how he’s progressing. The only player ruled out is Tyrone Mings. Tomorrow, the others, hopefully, will be available for Sunday.”

The key decisions Daniel Farke will have to make to his side

Emery will step foot in the away dugout at Elland Road on Sunday, but he could easily have been doing so in the home one. Andrea Radrizzani confirmed he was under consideration during Jesse Marsch’s era.

Instead, Emery has gone to Villa and thrived, taking the club into the Champions League. One key part of Emery’s success is his impressive 17-game unbeaten run against newly-promoted sides while Villa boss.

Leeds have their work cut out, even though the pressure is on Farke to get a result given the difficulty of the upcoming opponents. He absolutely has to pick the right team, if he is to appease frustrated fans.

Decisions need to be made on Jaka Bijol, Anton Stach, Brenden Aaronson and who starts up top. Pascal Struijk, Dan James, Ao Tanaka and Calvert-Lewin could come in to the side, possibly making four changes.