Aston Villa defender Bjorn Engels is set to be rested by manager Dean Smith for their midweek Carabao Cup showdown against rivals Wolves.
The Athletic writer Gregg Evans recently tweeted an article in which he interviewed the Belgian about his season so far. In the journalist’s Twitter caption, he revealed he expects the defender to be rested in Villa’s midweek game against Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Engels has played in every Premier League game so far this season for the Birmingham club, playing the full 90 minutes in all but one where he only played 75 minutes in the 5-1 victory at Norwich (Transfermarkt).
This long run of matches could result in the 25-year-old getting a midweek rest if Dean Smith decides to not put the defender in his matchday squad for the Wolves clash.
Engels has not yet made an appearance in Villa’s Carabao Cup campaign this season. He was left out of the squad for Villa’s 6-1 thrashing of Crewe Alexandra in the second round in August, as well as their third round 3-1 win over fellow Premier League side Brighton.
Future Belgium star
Evans also mentioned how Belgium manager Roberto Martinez almost called up the Villa defender last month, but a slight injury issue made him reconsider.
When discussing his decision to leave out Engels, Martinez said: “It’s a shame because he started well at Aston Villa and, as a central defender, you’re immediately put to the test in the Premier League and he easily put himself forward.”
TIF Tactics
The Belgian joined Aston Villa in the summer from French club Reims for a fee of £7.2 million (Transfermarkt). Having played all 10 Premier League games, Engels has already proven himself to be an important defensive asset to the club. So far this season, he has averaged 4.5 clearances per game (WhoScored), as well as 1.4 interceptions.
The question now is how will Villa hold up against Wolves without the Belgian in their backline?