Aston Villa are on the road again tonight with an away clash against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Their previous outing saw the Villans draw 0-0 against Leeds United at Elland Road, despite playing through the majority of the second half against 10 men after Luis Sinisterra was sent off.
One player in Steven Gerrard’s squad that didn’t start against Leeds, but ended up playing a big part in that game, that we feel should be in the starting XI tonight is Jan Bednarek.
After Ludwig Augustinsson went off injured at the midway point of the game at Elland Road, Bednarek made his first appearance for Villa after arriving from Southampton on the final day of the summer transfer window.
The second half against Leeds saw the Poland international show how much of a capable defender he is and why Villa were right to bring him to the club.
Specifically, in addition to making two tackles and one interception, the 26-year-old also managed to win all three of the duels he was involved in.
Having also completed 37 of the 41 passes he attempted, including five of the six long balls he made, this also highlights how comfortable he is in possession.
This display ultimately earned the £20k-per-week centre-back a solid match rating of 7/10 from SofaScore, which is a higher rating than the likes of Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey, Jacob Ramsey and Tyrone Mings managed to pick up in the game.
Hailed as a “firefighter” in the past by Ralph Hasenhuttl in terms of his defensive attributes, Bednarek certainly has what it takes to do a job for Villa tonight and dominate his opponents.
Taking all of this into account, we feel that if Bednarek were to get his first start for Villa this evening, he would give Gerrard’s side a great chance of keeping another clean sheet on the road.
