Aston Villa will kick off their return to the Premier League by travelling to Tottenham Hotspur.
Aston Villa have been pretty busy this summer, and with it have spent a lot of money to bulk up their squad ahead of the new Premier League season, but who will start their opener against Tottenham?
During Villa’s spending spree, one name that has perhaps gone unnoticed is that of right-back Fred Guilbert, who signed for Villa in January but was loaned back to French side Caen.
Villa supporters have only seen a glimpse of him during pre-season, but it is fair to say that the Frenchman has been impressing every time he has been given a chance.
Ahmed Elmoahamdy is Villa’s main right-back, and he has been thriving in that role, especially towards the back end of Villa’s promotion campaign and that play-off final win against Derby County.
But he joined up with Villa’s pre-season squad late because he was on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt, and that period of time has allowed Guilbert to showcase his talent and potentially push ahead of him for a starting spot.
At this moment in time, based on sharpness and performances, Guilbert should start ahead of Elmohamady against Spurs, which is the type of competition Villa fans are looking for.
One thing that Villa seriously lacked in the fullback area last season was a lack of quality and competition. They cannot afford to have those same problems in that area in the Premier League.
Guilbert is so far proving that he is ready to challenge for that starting spot, and if he can prove his worth during the first few games of the season then it’ll bode well for Dean Smith as a whole.
But saying that, Elmohamady is still a big part of Villa’s set-up, and he plays a huge role as an overlapping fullback, who can cross the ball. But who should start against Tottenham?
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