Aston Villa are back in action this evening, as Unai Emery’s side host Everton in the third round of the Carabao Cup at Villa Park.

The Spaniard will be hoping for a repeat of their previous result against the Toffees, where the Villans tore Sean Dyche’s squad apart in a 4-0 demolition last month in the Premier League.

It is hoped that Villa can build some cup form on the back of last week's disappointing 3-2 loss to Legia Warsaw to kick off their UEFA Europa Conference League journey, with a win this evening in the host's favour as the Blues continue to search for quality.

What is the latest Aston Villa team news?

On the back of their 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Villa will prepare for their third game in six days as Emery’s side juggle the Premier League and European competition among their busy schedule.

The quick turnaround in games has seen some rotation in the squad over the past week, with the Spaniard expected to make further changes this evening with Villa’s blockbuster match-up against Brighton coming on Saturday lunchtime in the league.

As well as having lots of games to contend with, the Villans have been struck with injury since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, losing Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia early on, with the likes of Alex Moreno, Jacob Ramsey and Tim Iroegbunam being absent too.

There was relief as Ramsey re-entered the fold against Legia last week, in what is a big boost for Villa considering the midfielder’s impact last term, with Moreno also being named on the bench for the last three fixtures.

Diego Carlos was injured in the Liverpool game and is set to miss tonight’s affair, leaving Emery short at the back once more.

Away from injury, some rotated players could be in with the chance of starting against the Toffees, with Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey having a strong claim to return to the eleven.

Should Leon Bailey start against Everton?

Having previously been lauded as “superb” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Bailey has had a stop-start opening to the season with reference to his ranking in the squad.

The Jamaican has started two out of five games in the league, scoring twice and recording one assist already to showcase his value to the attack.

Everton will be hoping that Emery will opt against unleashing the winger, who caused havoc against the Toffees in August, in a match that he both scored and assisted in, earning an 8.6 Sofascore match rating.

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Considering that the 26-year-old has featured as a substitute in the Premier League fixtures since that victory, his energy and threat will be at a peak as he competes for his spot in the starting eleven again.

Ashley Young was left terrorised by Bailey in the league meeting between the two sides, earning a 5.9 Sofascore player rating as he failed to handle the £100k-per-week forward’s pace in the final third, seeing him complete 100% of his dribbles.

Emery could repeat an old trick by fielding the winger against Dyche’s side, in a fixture that could allow him to both rotate and rest key players and allow those on the fence to show their worth to advance into the next round.