Aston Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when they face champions Manchester City this evening after their recent 2-2 draw with AFC Bournemouth.

Unai Emery had to be rescued by a late goal from Ollie Watkins to secure a share of the spoils, and while he had to rotate his starting XI due to the European tie in midweek, he will need to unleash his strongest side tonight.

This means benching a few players who underperformed against the Cherries, most notably Nicolo Zaniolo.

Nicolo Zaniolo’s game vs Bournemouth in numbers

The Italian was deployed alongside Watkins in a two-man attack on the weekend, yet it didn’t quite have the desired effect Emery had in mind.

Zaniolo took just one shot during his 45 minutes on the pitch while failing with his only dribble attempt and losing possession ten times, proving that his change of role clearly wasn’t working.

He barely had the ball, taking only 20 touches throughout the first half, and when he did, he completed just three passes, a shocking statistic.

It was hardly surprising when Emery hooked him ahead of the second half for Jacob Ramsey and there is no doubt he will be back on the bench this evening.

This leaves the door ajar for Moussa Diaby to be unleashed in the starting XI.

Moussa Diaby’s season in numbers

The winger has managed to find the back of the net on four occasions since his big-money move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, while also chipping in with five assists.

The £130k-per-week star was utilised heavily out wide for the Bundesliga outfit, yet Emery prefers to deploy him in a more central role and the Frenchman has led the line on seven occasions this term already, scoring twice.

Emery must now bench "sloppy" 6/10 Aston Villa star

This £26m dud lost possession of the ball 12 times for Aston Villa against Bournemouth and should be dropped in the next game.

ByAdam Scully

With key strengths such as long shots and holding onto the ball according to WhoScored, a transition into a central role for the long term shouldn’t be a problem for the player and this could work out well against City.

Diaby currently ranks second in the Villa squad for total shots per game (1.9) and shots on target per game (0.8) in the Premier League this season, along with ranking first for big chances created (seven) and second for key passes per game (1.7), ensuring that a new role alongside Watkins could pay off handsomely for Villa in the long run judging by these statistics.

The winger was praised by Morade Djeddi, the president of his first club, Esperance Paris 19e, who said: “I’m not comparing him to Messi: I’m just saying that Lionel Messi didn’t learn his dribbling anywhere. It’s the same for Moussa. He was born with it. If dribbling was just work, there would be hundreds and hundreds of Lionel Messis. It’s just that Moussa has a supernatural, divine gift. A gift that some have and others don’t.”

This ‘supernatural’ gift appears to be working wonders for Emery so far and if he continues his recent run of form, the Midlands side will be tough to stop, and he must be unleashed against Pep Guardiola’s men tonight.