After a relatively calm and quiet January transfer window has now closed, attention turns to Villa’s Saturday evening trip to Bramall Lane. Emery will be keen to get back to winning ways after a disappointing performance and defeat midweek against Newcastle (1-3) and knowing his side hasn’t tasted a league win since the end of December.

Embed from Getty Images

The squad depth, lighter still after the exit of fringe players such as Dendoncker and Traore, is compounded by a growing injury list.

INJURY TIME

With Mings and Buendia sidelined for the season, Digne and Pau Torres also remain sidelined. Digne, who had been in particularly fine form, is a big miss as Moreno struggles for consistency after a lengthy time out earlier in the campaign.
Pau Torres is a particularly frustrating absentee, with the Spaniard’s composure and ball-playing qualities sorely missed. The defender seems unable to shake off a troublesome ankle injury, but managed to train this week for the first time in several weeks. Rushing Torres back would be a risk and perhaps a mistake given his importance in the coming months, but there’s a gaping hole in the centre of Villa’s defence whilst he’s out.

Jhon Duran remains out for at least another month, leaving Villa looking decidedly limited in terms of any reserve attacking threat. Whilst Watkins’ return is impressive, the England international cannot be expected to do it all, especially with Mou...