Emery must axe Ramsey to unleash Aston Villa’s next Morgan Rogers

Fresh off the back of a 2-1 triumph over Chelsea in the Premier League, Aston Villa will be looking to clinch back-to-back wins in the elite division when travelling to Crystal Palace later today.

That slim victory over Enzo Maresca’s Blues was Unai Emery’s first win in league action in five matches, with a worry that a defeat on the road at Selhurst Park will place the West Midlands side right back at square one.

On the flip side, another win would really put the Villans back in top-four contention, with the boss hopeful that Morgan Rogers can cause Oliver Glasner’s Eagles all sorts of bother tonight if back to his electric best.

Morgan Rogers’ slight drop in form

It could be argued that the ex-Middlesbrough attacking midfielder has dropped off slightly in recent matches, with no goals or assists coming his way across his last six Premier League outings.

But, there were glimmers of what he is truly capable of in the 2-1 win over Chelsea, with all three of his dribbles successfully pulled off on the night, on top of valiantly winning seven duels.

Rogers wouldn’t be basking in the limelight come full-time, however, as Marco Asensio grabbed all the headlines from the number ten spot with the standout loanee’s two strikes securing the dramatic victory, as his late effort somehow beat a shaky Filip Jorgensen.

Both the England international and the Spaniard are likely to be nailed-on starters for the trip to the Eagles, but there could be a change to the line-up down the right flank, with Jacob Ramsey dropping to the substitutes bench for this ace to shine brightly once more.

Emery must unleash Aston Villa’s next Rogers

Of course, ex-Real Madrid man Asensio wasn’t the only statement loan addition to the ranks towards the end of a hectic winter transfer window.

The other bold attacker who has now joined the ranks temporarily is Marcus Rashford, with the Manchester United outcast turned new Villa star putting in a stunning cameo off the bench versus the Blues to steer his team to a much-needed three points.

Rashford would walk off at the end of his 45-minute stint on the Villa Park turf with two sublime assists next to his name, with his vital contributions gifting Asensio his first two strikes in claret and blue too, which more than raised the spirits of the home masses.

As it happens, Emery could have the next Rogers on his hands with the “fantastic” Manchester-born forward – as he was labelled at full-time of the Chelsea win by pundit Jamie Redknapp – a similar style of player to the 22-year-old in terms of their tricky movements when bursting forward.

Rogers is the most similar player to Rashford in Europe’s big five leagues this season according to FBRef, and the numbers certainly showcase that.

Rashford vs Rogers – last 365 days
Stat – per 90 mins	Rashford	Rogers
Total shots	1.82	1.89
Shot-creating actions	3.32	3.34
Attempted passes	33.81	28.51
Pass completion %	75.2%	73.9%
Progressive passes	2.46	3.86
Progressive carries	2.78	3.40
Successful take-ons	1.59	2.38
Touches in attacking penalty area	4.23	4.38
Progressive passes received	8.33	5.60
Stats by FBref

Despite having his confidence knocked back at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim, it’s clear from the numbers above that Rashford is a top-quality attacker on his day, with his statistics very similar to that of Rogers over the last year even as his United career has been put on life support.

After all, the once-regular Three Lions international hasn’t fluked his bumper total of 138 goals and 63 assists from 426 appearances when back at the Theatre of Dreams, with potentially lots more to come from Rashford when donning his new colours.