Unai Emery is hoping Tyrone Mings will be available for Aston Villa’s crunch Champions League clash with Celtic tomorrow night – but insists he has alternative plans if the England centre-half is ruled out.
Mings limped out of Villa’s draw with West Ham on Sunday with a knee problem and, although Emery said it was not a “big injury”, there are still doubts as to whether he will be cleared to face the Hoops.
Villa must win to stand any chance of squeezing into the top eight of the league phase and securing automatic qualification for the round of 16. If they don’t, they will compete in the playoffs.
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Villa’s defensive worries
The recent sale of Diego Carlos and Pau Torres’ ankle injury means Villa are short of numbers in the centre of defence and Emery is hopeful Mings will pull through.
Unai’s update on Tyrone Mings: “It’s not a big injury but every day is going to be very important on how he could feel better or worse. We will train this afternoon and will see how he is feeling.” pic.twitter.com/p5c9CnAOm9
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 28, 2025
He said: “We will see this afternoon and then we are going to decide how every player is feeling. We have Lamare Bogarde in the squad as well, he is training every day and competing very well.
“Sil [Swinkels] is another option because he is training with us, but we are thinking of letting him leave on loan. I think he will need more experience to get minutes.
“We have enough players to compete and feel confidence. For example, Lucas Digne is left-footed and is an experienced player. He can feel confident [playing at centre-back]. Firstly, if Tyrone Mings is available then he could play, but if not, Bogarde – who has usually played in midfield – he is training sometimes as a centre-back. I am confident and I believe in the squad we have.
“We now have injured players, but this is something every team has. We have a circumstance where Diego Carlos wanted to leave and he pushed us to let him leave. I believe in the players we have in the squad.”
McGinn likely to start
John McGinn is fit after appearing as a substitute against West Ham and is likely to return to the starting XI.
Celtic are guaranteed a place in the playoffs and will arrive in Birmingham in confident mood.
Emery added: “They have very experienced players, international players and are going to play tomorrow here feeling confident.
“The club is a prestigious club and the players feel they are a team to play in Europe, the Champions League.”
