Brian Madjo starts for Aston Villa in the Bournemouth vs Aston Villa EFL Cup fourth-round tie, while Alejandro Garnacho is again left without his first start of the season. The 17-year-old had been expected to feature in the starting XI for the first time since the UEFA Super Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain in August.
Villa's selection calls
Unai Emery has handed Madjo a place in the XI, and the context around it is pretty clear. He has made only one Premier League appearance this season and has logged just eight minutes in the competition, so this is a real step up in responsibility for a teenager who has not had many senior minutes to work with.
The other headline on the Villa side is Garnacho. The Chelsea loanee has already made three Premier League appearances, but he still has 0 League Cup appearances and remains on the bench again.
Bournemouth's rotation
Bournemouth have also gone heavy on changes, with Marco Rose resting the majority of the players who started Sunday's win at Manchester United. George Hemmings is recalled after returning from injury, Taylor Harwood-Bellis features for just the second time since signing from Southampton, and Leon Goretzka makes his first start in a Villa shirt after four substitute outings.
Only Antonio Silva, Lewis Cook and Marcus Tavernier have kept their places. It is a proper cup-night shuffle from both managers, but Madjo is the selection that stands out most because Villa have finally given him a start and Garnacho is still waiting for his first.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
