Aston Villa welcome fellow Championship side Swansea City to Villa Park this afternoon for our third round FA Cup clash.
Ahead of the game it was expected that January signing Lovre Kalinic would make his debut now he comes into contention for us following his arrival, but head coach Dean Smith had admitted pre-game that on loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham would be rested given his efforts in our Championship campaign – but in taking that decision amidst reported recall and Wolverhampton Wanderers speculation, it will no doubt fuel further rumours that his head has been turned and he’s heading out of VP.
He’s not.
With Villa’s injury situation well known, there were doubts for the visitors over striker’s Oli McBurnie, Wilfried Bony and Jefferson Montero so Lady Luck may be smiling on us as we look to book our place in the fourth round draw.
Team news: It’s a debut for Lovre Kalinic and a first start of the season for @CalOhare this afternoon. Neil Taylor returns, while Albert Adomah, @AElGhazi7 and @ScottHogan_9 come into the starting XI.#PartOfThePride #AVFC pic.twitter.com/aOCarSPPHK
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 5, 2019
📝 | Here is today's starting XI 🆚 @AVFCOfficial …
🔘 One change.
🔘 @courts_B_R comes in for @oli_mcburnie.
🔘 Narsingh, Byers & Harries on the bench. pic.twitter.com/o8PJoZlZ42— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) January 5, 2019
