Aston Villa kicked off their pre-season campaign in style with a comfortable 5-0 win over Walsall on Tuesday evening.
As attention turns to Fantasy Premier League, we’ll be assessing the match from an FPL perspective, highlighting the goals, assists, standout performers, tactical setup, minutes played and any other key takeaways ahead of the new season.
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Walsall 0-5 ASTON VILLA
- Goals: Madjo x2, Hemmings, Lynch, Borland
- Assists: Nedeljković, Buendia x2, Lynch
Aston Villa XI: Gauci (Wright 46); Nedeljković (Cash 46), Kéba Cissé (Iling Jr 64), Carroll (Mings 46), Maatsen (Rowe 46); Bogarde (Borland 46), Barkley (Gomes 46); Bailey (Lynch 46), Buendía (Broggio 46, Jimoh-Aloba 81), Hemmings (Alysson 46); Madjo (Burrowes 46).
NOTES
- Emiliano Martínez, Victor Lindelöf, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins all missed the trip to Walsall after featuring at the World Cup. McGinn and Lindelof will be the first of those back after early exits for Scotland and Sweden, but we may not see Martinez and Watkins until well into August after their deep runs.
- Lucas Digne meanwhile looks set to join European champions Paris Saint-Germain, with reports suggesting the French club have triggered his release clause. Youri Tielemans has, of course, completed his move to Manchester United, while Morgan Rogers officially became a Chelsea player on the evening of the match against Walsall.
- Amadou Onana also missed out after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL. He now faces around nine months on the sidelines.
- Emery mixed senior players with several youngsters. Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, Ian Maatsen, Lamare Bogarde, João Gomes, Ross Barkley, Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendía and Alysson all featured.
- Seventeen-year-old Brian Madjo stole the headlines before the break, scoring twice in an impressive display. Fellow youngsters George Hemmings, Luka Lynch and Aidan Borland also got on the scoresheet. Madjo still awaits his competitive Aston Villa debut because of registration issues; currently, he won’t be able to play until January 2027, when he turns 18. The coaching staff clearly rate him highly, though. His physicality and finishing ability both stood out again. If Villa win their appeal, he could spend time around the first-team squad this season.
- New signing João Gomes made his Aston Villa debut. He joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £35m earlier this week. Gomes played the second half in central midfield and looked comfortable throughout. The Brazilian impressed both in and out of possession.
- Buendía captained the first-half side and operated as the No. 10. He registered two assists, one of which came via a Fantasy assist after his deflected effort fell kindly for Madjo. He looks set to battle McGinn, Johan Manzambi and potentially Alejandro Garnacho for a starting spot this season.
- Alysson also caught the eye after the break. His pace caused Walsall problems throughout the second half. Rogers’ departure could open the door to more game-time, although a loan move is also feasible.
- Elsewhere, Maatsen – who looks set to have Pervis Estupinan as competition in 2026/27 – produced an encouraging display and fired one effort narrowly wide. Right-back Kosta Nedeljković also impressed, supplying an excellent cross for Madjo’s opener after returning from his loan spell at RB Leipzig.
- Bailey struggled to influence proceedings. The Jamaican started just three Premier League matches last season and will hope for a much stronger pre-season under Emery.
- Aston Villa continue their preparations against FC Porto on Saturday before hosting Real Sociedad next week.
