The Premier League's January changes could wreck Aston Villa's

The Premier League’s January changes could wreck Aston Villa’s Alex Moreno comeback at Villa Park.

Alex Moreno appeared to have the ideal opportunity after Lucas Digne’s injury at Aston Villa, but the January winter

may destroy his chances of regaining his permanent spot. The left-back has not played for Villa since suffering a

hamstring injury against Liverpool at Anfield in May. On November 30, he made his season debut against Legia

Warsaw in the Europa Conference League.

The Spaniard scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the team’s 2-1 victory at Villa Park, and he added another goal in

the Premier League on December 17th against Brentford. The Spaniard appeared to be regaining the amazing form

he displayed prior to his injuries sustained during the previous season.

Before suffering an injury, Moreno established himself as a consistent starter in the Premier League with 19 games

after becoming manager Emery’s first acquisition in January 2023 after joining for £13 million from

Real Betis. The former Real Betis player was fantastic for the Villans the previous season, averaging 1.2 critical

passes, finishing 46% of his dribbles, recording three assists from his 19 league appearances, exceeding his expected

assists (xA) of 2.58.

Out of all the full-backs in the top five European leagues over the past year, Moreno’s Opta-powered stats at FBREF

show that he once placed in the 96th percentile of players for progressive carries (3.87) and the top 20% of his peers

for progressive passes received (6.16 per 90) and successful take-ons (1.24 per 90).

Moreno’s attacking prowess is widely known, and his arrival to Emery’s squad has proven to be the ideal fit for an

Aston Villa team that adjusts their tactical structure to allow their full-backs to run wild.

Due to his performance in the 22–23 season, Digne—a high-profile signing—was eliminated from the picture.

However, when the Spaniard became hurt, the Frenchman had the opportunity to make a statement to Emery, and

he seized it.

Even with Moreno’s goal-scoring return from injury, Digne remained Emery’s first choice. Only two Premier League

starts hath Moreno made since his comeback; the most recent came in the 3-2 victory over Burnley following Digne’s

in-game injury against Manchester United. The former Betis player had a rather good game against the Clarets,

winning 80% of his ground duels, making two crucial passes, clearing two obstacles, and completing more than 70%

of his passes.

It is yet to be seen if Emery will be persuaded by that performance that he is worthy of unseating Digne once more.

But Moreno needs games for that, for sure. The 30-year-old’s bad news is that Villa only has three games this month,

which comes at a difficult moment for the Spaniard as the January break draws near.

According to Injury Expert Ben Dinnery [31 December], Digne is also anticipated to make a comeback before the end

of the month.

Will Moreno be able to reclaim his spot on the team after three games? Most likely not, but in order for it to occur, he

will need to regain the form and performance levels. There is still a chance that Moreno will be regularly in the Villa

Park spotlight again with the FA Cup match against Middlesbrough on January 6 and the Premier League matches

against Everton on January 14 and Newcastle United at home on January 30.

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