Unai Emery will assess his squad at the last possible moment ahead Aston Villa’s Premier League encounter against Southampton on Saturday.
The Villans, who triumphed 3-1 over Brentford on Wednesday, face their fifth match in 15 days as they entertain Saints this weekend.
Emery’s side also face another double-header next week as they travel to Germany to face RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League before taking on Nottingham Forest.
And, with recovery key amid the hectic schedule, the Villa manager will wait until Saturday morning to select his side to take on Southampton.
Amadou Onana will also face a late fitness test as he closes in on his return from injury, while fellow midfielder Jacob Ramsey is progressing well but remains a couple of weeks away from full fitness.
“It’s been very difficult because we played two matches in three days, even we played against Juventus but we had, more or less, one day more to rest,” said Emery at Friday’s pre-match media conference.
“And we are playing three matches, with the match tomorrow, just in the middle another match against Leipzig on Tuesday.
“It’s the most difficult challenge we can have, playing four matches in those days.
“Today I don’t know exactly which players are available for tomorrow – some are doubts, yesterday they were in some pain and as well some were really tired.
“We are going to train now, this afternoon, but even training this afternoon, I think until tomorrow morning it’s not going to be clear for me which players will start the match.”
