OPINION
After a humbling defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic in their last outing Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is expected to ring some changes to his starting XI for the visit of Hull City.
The Villans saw their hopes of clawing back into contention for a top six finish take a blow in the north west last weekend as they sunk to a 3-0 loss, leaving the club sitting 12th in the Championship table, five points adrift of Derby in sixth.
With the chance to leapfrog the Tigers and get their campaign back on track on Saturday, Smith is expected to swing the axe on at least three of those who started at Wigan – although a couple of struggling stars could be saved.
Alan Hutton, Kortney Hause and Glenn Whelan are expected to be promoted from the substitutes’ bench, the centre back for his first start at Villa Park, with James Bree, Tommy Elpick and Birkir Bjarnason the trio tossed aside by Smith.
The defending against Wigan was woeful at best and with Hause having got his first taste of action off the bench looks set to join Hutton, replacing the inexperienced Bree, in starting against Hull in some much needed changes.
Bjarnason was another who struggled against the Tigers and Whelan’s experience alongside John McGinn and Conor Hourihane, the trio having been utilised often as Smith’s first choice midfield, makes him a shoo-in to take the 30-year-old’s place.
With a lack of cutting edge some might expect a host of changes up top but Smith is unlikely to change things around much simply due to a lack of options, with Jonathan Kodjia only just returning from injury and Albert Adomah struggling as much as those who started in his substitute outing against Hull.
As such the out-of-form Anwar El Ghazi, who lasted just over an hour last weekend, and Yannick Bolasie are set for a reprieve from the chop.