Unai Emery hit with Aston Villa suspension blow before new Premier League season

Unai Emery hit with Aston Villa suspension blow before new Premier League season

The latest Aston Villa news as the Villans will kick-off their Premier League season against Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon

Emi Martinez has been suspended for one game (Image: Getty Images)

Aston Villa will have to deal with a suspension blow for their Premier League opener against Newcastle United on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off).

‌

Unai Emery will be without Emiliano Martinez for the clash with Newcastle after he was sent off against Manchester United on the final day of last season. "The referee's call of red card to Martinez for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) was checked and confirmed by VAR," the Premier League said on social media in the aftermath of referee Thomas Bramall's decision at the time.

‌

Martinez brought down striker Rasmus Hojlund in injury time as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat, finishing sixth in the final league table - narrowly missing out on the Champions League places.

‌

Before the dismissal, the World Cup winner had kept Villa in contention with a series of fine saves, but he raced off his line to foul Hojlund, who had chased down a back-pass from Matty Cash under pressure from Mason Mount.

Martinez will serve a one-match suspension and miss Villa's first Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Newcastle.

There had been speculation that the defeat might prove to be his final appearance for the club amid interest from United and big-money offers from Saudi Arabia. Martinez is under a long-term contract, having signed fresh terms less than a year ago, and Villa are said to value him at around £40 million.

Article continues below

Summer signing Marco Bizot, who joined from Stade Brestois, is in line to start between the posts, while Robin Olsen has departed Villa Park for Malmo FF after four years with the club.

Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more £43 £35 Sky Get Sky Sports here Product Description Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more. Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.

Everyday, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.

‌

Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.

So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.

You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.

Article continues below

If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.

Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.

Click here to read article