Aston Villa boss Unai Emery defends decision to make six changes for Manchester City defeat

Unai Emery has defended his decision to heavily rotate his Aston Villa line-up in Wednesday’s defeat at Manchester City, while he expects Emi Martinez to return for the weekend.

The Spanish coach initially made five changes from the team that beat Wolves on Saturday but was forced to make an additional late alteration, with backup keeper Robin Olsen coming in for the ill Martinez.

Although Villa competed well for much of the first half, City racked up 25 shots in a match they dominated and secured a 4-1 victory thanks to a hat-trick from Phil Foden.

With City in a three-way battle with Arsenal and Liverpool for the Premier League title, Emery’s decision to rotate so heavily against the champions raised a few eyebrows but he felt the team he put out was capable of winning the match.