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Opinion: Dean Smith could select Aston Villa man at centre-back against Birmingham City

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Image for Opinion: Dean Smith could select Aston Villa man at centre-back against Birmingham City

Dean Smith admitted in his pre-match press conference that he has a defensive dilemma ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Birmingham City. Aston Villa are already without Axel Tuanzebe (foot) and James Chester (knee) due to injury, but Tommy Elphick is now the third central defender sidelined.

Smith said he could start Mile Jedinak as a makeshift right-sided centre-back for the Second City Derby, but it’s more likely that Glenn Whelan is given the nod. The 35-year-old has impressed for Villa this season and should be able to replicate his fine performances in a slightly different role.

The Villa manager has the option to move Kortney Hause to centre-back and Neil Taylor to left-back to make up for Elphick’s injury but having three left-footed players may cause a real imbalance at the back. Whelan is right-footed, hard-working and in-form.

If he drops into the defence against Birmingham, John McGinn can come straight back into the side too. Smith is a big fan of the Scotland international and won’t want to leave out such an important player for Villa’s biggest game of the season.

The Claret and Blues currently sit 11th in the Championship with 48 points from 35 games this season. Villa are currently off the back of only one win in six. Birmingham are three places and two points better off ahead of Sunday’s fixture.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.