Rashford starts, Asensio call - Aston Villa starting XI vs Tottenham predicted
Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio could make their debuts for Aston Villa this weekend when Unai Emery’s side face Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Axel Disasi, who became the third loan arrival of the winter window at 1am on Tuesday morning, is cup-tied and will not be available to play against Spurs on Sunday evening. He could then make his Villa debut against Ipswich Town on Saturday, February 15.
Andres Garcia made his full debut in the 2-0 defeat at Wolves last weekend, while Donyell Malen made his second appearance since joining from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £20m.
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Villa progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating West Ham 2-1 at Villa Park last month, while Spurs edged past Tamworth in extra-time. Rashford posted a picture of himself in training earlier today and will be in contention to play from the off against Spurs.
The last game he started for Manchester United was against Everton in December and he scored a brace. His best position is off the left, where Jacob Ramsey had been impressive in recent weeks.
Considering Rashford hasn’t played too much football of late, Unai Emery could opt to start Rashford on Sunday in a bid to quickly get him up to speed. There’s 13 league games for him to play before Villa’s trip to Old Trafford on the final day of the season before his loan move ends.
Asensio, meanwhile, could be introduced in the second half considering Amadou Onana has returned from injury in the defeat at Wolves. Therefore, John McGinn could bump up to a more advanced role on the right while Donyell Malen could play up front due to the injury suffered by Ollie Watkins at Molineux.
Villa predicted XI vs Tottenham: Martinez, Bogarde, Konsa, Kamara, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Rashford, Malen.
