Aston Villa will be without two regular starters for their high-profile Premier League clash with Arsenal due to suspension.
Unai Emery’s in-form side head to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening for a blockbuster meeting that takes place just over three weeks after they sealed a last-gasp 2-1 triumph over the leaders at Villa Park thanks to Emi Buendia’s dramatic winner after Matty Cash’s opening goal had been cancelled out by Leandro Trossard.
However, right-back Cash will play no part in the return fixture against Arsenal after picking up his fifth yellow card of the domestic season during Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Chelsea, punished for a late challenge on Alejandro Garnacho on the half-hour mark at Stamford Bridge.
That will incur an automatic one-match suspension, with yellow cards in the Premier League not wiped until after the next (19th) round of matches.
As well as Cash, Villa will also be missing Boubacar Kamara against Arsenal. The French midfielder was the club’s only other player on four yellows going into the game against Chelsea and he picked up his fifth with a late foul that will also rule him out of Tuesday’s fixture in north London.
Being without two key players who have made a combined 45 appearances across all competitions so far this term is a blow to Villa’s hopes of pulling off a double against Arsenal, having registered an 11th successive win at Chelsea to equal a club record set in 1897 and 1914 to move just three points off top spot and one adrift of Manchester City in second after their rivals’ respective wins over Brighton and Nottingham Forest earlier in the day.
Emery will hope to have avoided any fresh injuries against Chelsea, with Pau Torres, Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings all currently sidelined, while forward Evann Guessand is away with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Arsenal are dealing with something of a defensive crisis again after left-back Riccardo Calafiori was injured in the warm-up before the Brighton game and replaced in the team by Myles Lewis-Skelly, with Jurrien Timber also ruled out with a knock suffered late on in the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Crystal Palace.
Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman are also out for Arsenal, while Kai Havertz has yet to return to first-team action following knee surgery.
However, Gabriel made a welcome return off the bench against Brighton and their one player at risk of a suspension over the busy festive period - midfielder Martin Zubimendi - has managed to avoid a fifth yellow card.
