Aston Villa enjoyed an excellent 2-0 victory over Chelsea last weekend which will no doubt have pleased Unai Emery, who is building something special at the club which could bear fruit next season.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn were enough to see off the Blues and with a tough task against a Leicester City side who are fighting a relegation battle, the quick turnaround means Emery may shake things up a little.
Watkins will undoubtedly keep his place given his exploits against Chelsea, however, Emiliano Buendia could well be dropped as he was poor. The Argentinian struggled throughout, having no shots at all during his 76 minutes on the pitch, completing just one dribble and winning only four duels.
Indeed, it's this lack of awareness that may well have cost him his place in the starting XI tonight.
As a result, Emery must now unleash January arrival Jhon Duran, as the £18m striker could certainly make the difference against a managerless Leicester.
Will Jhon Duran start against Leicester City?
The 19-year-old looks set to have a bright future ahead of him, especially with his early success in Colombia and the MLS, where he scored eight goals in 27 appearances during the 2022 season which led to his move to the Midlands.
He has yet to score for Villa in six appearances, although his total game time has been just 65 minutes and due to Buendia’s performance over the weekend, he deserves a start.
Despite his lack of action, Duran has still managed 1.2 shots per game and has succeeded with 100% of his attempted dribbles, proving himself to be an extremely dangerous asset.
With that in the mind, the Colombian frontman could form a dream duo with Watkins.
The Englishman has already scored ten Premier League goals this term, along with grabbing five assists and Duran couldn’t ask for a better partner to play alongside in a crucial tie.
The two have slightly different styles of play which could work well together. As per WhoScored, Duran likes to perform flick-ons and is a threat on the counter, whereas Watkins likes to play lay-offs and short passes to good effect, meaning they could combine incredibly well.
Football talent scout Jacek Kulig previously described the youngster as being a “complete forward” who is an “aerial threat” and working in tandem with Watkins this evening, they could create havoc for the opposition defence, giving Villa an excellent chance of yet another three points.
