Aston Villa travel to the Vitality Stadium for a League Cup Round of 16 clash with Bournemouth on Wednesday night.
The match kicks off at 19:45 local time as Unai Emery's side aim to maintain the momentum from a superb run of form. Villa have won their last four matches in all competitions, a sequence that includes a 2-1 Premier League victory over Manchester City last Friday. They currently sit ten points behind the leaders, Manchester City.
Bournemouth present a significant challenge, having recorded impressive wins over Manchester United and AC Milan in recent weeks. Their last outing, however, was a heavy 5-1 defeat to Chelsea, a result Villa will look to exploit. The Cherries' last starting lineup featured Đorđe Petrović in goal with Smith and Hill in defence, set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Villa's own recent performances have been built on solidity and firepower. Nicolas Jackson, the club's top scorer this season with four goals in seven appearances, netted a brace in the win over City. His second, a 60th-minute winner assisted by Ibrahim Mbaye, sealed a memorable result. The team's last five results show four wins and a draw, with a 6-0 thrashing of Fenerbahçe and a 3-1 win over Viking among the highlights. This recent form of four wins and a draw follows victories over Sevilla, Newcastle, and Viking, alongside that draw with Brentford.
Emery is expected to field a strong side, with the last starting XI featuring Suzuki in goal, Cash at right-back and Lindelöf in central defence, also in a 4-2-3-1 shape. The manager has a fully fit squad to choose from as he balances cup ambitions with Premier League commitments.
Victory would see Villa progress to the quarter-finals of a competition they last won in 1996. It would also provide a perfect platform ahead of a return to league action at home to Fulham on Saturday 31 October, a match against a side currently 15th in the table.
The team's recent defensive record shows nine goals scored and 12 conceded in the league this season, giving them a goal difference of minus three. They will need to be sharp against a Bournemouth attack that can be dangerous, as their wins over top sides prove. A place in the last eight of the League Cup is the immediate prize on offer in Dorset.
