Aston Villa star suspended for Monaco clash as striker walks tightrope
Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran must avoid a booking against AS Monaco on Tuesday in order to feature in the club’s final Champions League league phase fixture next week.
The 21-year-old has collected two bookings so far in the competition and will be banned for the Celtic clash if he receives a yellow card against Monaco. He has been on a tightrope since the match against Bologna after he was booked in opening games against BSC Young Boys and Bayern Munich.
Only one Villa player has been booked three times in the league phase, which is Diego Carlos. The Brazilian is therefore suspended against Monaco, but may not have been included in the squad anyway as he closes in on a move to Fenerbahce.
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The centre-back hasn’t featured in the club’s last four matches in all competitions. Unai Emery said he was unavailable to face Everton through injury, but the defender refuted that on social media, claiming he was fit. He then missed the trip to Arsenal after a medical report revealed he was unfit to play.
Boubacar Kamara, Ezri Konsa, Ian Maatsen, Leon Bailey, Ross Barkley, Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings and Youri Tielemans have all picked up a single booking in the first six matches. They can only be banned for the match against Celtic if they are sent off on Tuesday night.
Torres and Barkley are both ruled out of the match in Monaco through injury, but Emery should give updates on captain John McGinn and Amadou Onana.
Captain McGinn returned to training on the grass last week, but wasn't ready to play against Arsenal. Onana suffered a suspected hamstring injury in the first half against the Gunners and was replaced by Lamare Bogarde.
