When Aston Villa travel to Brentford next weekend, they will be without Lucas Digne for the first time this season.
The Villans extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday (9 December).
Digne has been crucial to Villa’s success this season, starting all 16 of their games – one of only five players to do so.
Indeed, according to WhoScored, Digne’s 1,403 minutes of Premier League action are only surpassed by Pau Torres (1,409) among Villa players.
However, the Frenchman received his fifth booking of the season against Arsenal, a game in which he had 33 touches, and will now serve a one-game suspension against Brentford.
Alex Moreno will almost certainly make his first top-flight start of the season, having previously been limited to three substitute appearances.
Stephen Warnock, speaking on Sky Sports News on Monday [11 December, 11:11am], backed Villa to adjust to the change in their backline.
“At left back, Lucas Digne has been a constant. “They did bring in Alex Moreno to push him, but he got hurt,” Warnock explained.
“Digne has been fantastic this season. So the change in defense has had no effect on how they play.
“How often do we look at teams and think, ‘They’ll suffer with all the changes.'” Aston Villa have been extremely impressive.”
Digne leads the way in a number of metrics for Villa this season, including aerial duels won per game (1.6) [WhoScored].
Next on that list is Ollie Watkins with ‘only’ 1.1 per game, so Digne is above and beyond the rest in that regard.
The former Everton player is also top for interceptions per game (1.2), crosses per game (1.7) and key passes per game (1.8).
Digne not only stands out defensively, but he also contributes significantly to attacking moves, as evidenced by his two assists
.
It goes without saying that missing the 30-year-old against Brentford is a setback, and Moreno must respond quickly.
Moreno has only played 29 minutes in the Premier League this season, so passing judgment on the summer signing is premature.
The Spaniard has yet to record a key pass, a cross, or an interception, which you hope will change when the game kicks off against Brentford.
While others have received more praise, Digne has been as important as any Villa player, as will be evident next weekend.
The Spaniard has yet to record a key pass, a cross, or an interception, which you hope will change when the game kicks off against Brentford.
While others have received more praise, Digne has been as important as any Villa player, as will be evident next weekend.
The Spaniard has yet to record a key pass, a cross, or an interception, which you hope will change when the game kicks off against Brentford.
While others have received more praise, Digne has been as important as any Villa player, as will be evident next weekend.
Garth Crooks has dubbed a first-team regular a “hero” in other Aston Villa news.
