This just came across from the Aston Villa official twitter feed:
Alan Hutton could return against Liverpool. Andi Weimann (ankle), Charles N'Zogbia (knee) and Carlos Cuellar (thigh) are all doubtful. #avfc
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 5, 2012
I think it's safe to say that this is exactly what most of us did not want to hear headed into the match this weekend. It's easy to be hopeful about a tough match when you know there will be some youth players or likable players. Andreas Weimann has been look fantastically lately, so it would've been fun to see him try and continue that. Well, with him out I bet we'll be seeing some Emile Heskey (though Gary Gardner is a possibility too).
And on the defense, it's not much of a stretch to say that Carlos Cuellar is one of the most likable players on the team and Alan Hutton is one of the least. What's interesting about this is the fact that the two don't make a great one-for-one swap. Hutton, if he is healthy, will likely be in the lineup, but he plays on the wing. Who does that leave in the center where Cuellar has been? Does Lichaj--who looked fantastic playing the whole length of the pitch last weekend--shift to the center, or is he dropped from the lineup? If he is, what does that back four look like?
Don't get me wrong, this isn't end-of-the-world dire news, but it's a bit disheartening to see that Alex McLeish's hand may be forced away from the youth this week after the exciting results we got when the opposite happened last week.