Aston Villa's Champions League return could finally give Unai Emery the chance to unleash his new attacking options

One of the things I've been looking forward to most about Aston Villa's increasingly busy fixture schedule is finally getting the opportunity to see more of the players who arrived during the summer, because although several of the new signings have made encouraging starts, there are still some we have barely seen in an Aston Villa shirt.

Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Fenerbahce could provide Unai Emery with an opportunity to make changes to his starting eleven, although the situation is complicated by the fact that Villa are suddenly looking very short of options in certain defensive positions.

The injuries to Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri have left Emery with a problem at left-back, and with both unavailable, Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks set to operate on that side of the defence for the foreseeable future.

That is far from ideal when you consider the number of games Villa have coming up, particularly as Matty Cash is also likely to be required regularly on the opposite flank. The situation has reduced Emery's ability to rotate his full-backs at precisely the point in the season when he would ideally want to start using more of his squad.

I would expect Pau Torres to return to the starting eleven against Fenerbahce, having not featured against Brentford, and I think there is a strong possibility that he will partner Victor Lindelof in central defence.

Further forward, however, Emery has considerably more flexibility, and I think that is where we might see some interesting decisions over the next couple of matches.

Boubacar Kamara and João Gomes have been the established midfield partnership, but with Leon Goretzka working his way back towards fitness, there is an opportunity to start sharing the minutes around. I wouldn't expect Goretzka to come straight into the starting eleven against Fenerbahce, although a substitute appearance could be a sensible way of helping him build towards a more substantial involvement.

I do think Kamara's workload needs to be considered over the coming weeks, particularly given his injury history and the fact that he hasn't quite looked at his absolute best physically so far this season. There were encouraging signs against Brentford, but Villa have to be careful about asking too much of him during a period when they are playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday.

John McGinn provides an alternative in central midfield, while Ross Barkley is another player who could potentially come into consideration, and those options might become increasingly important as the schedule develops.

The biggest selection questions, though, concern the three positions behind Nicolas Jackson, because Villa have a number of players who are competing for places and several of them are still waiting for a proper opportunity.

I have a feeling that Ibrahim Mbaye could start against Fenerbahce, and I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility of Emery using him on the right-hand side, with McGinn operating centrally and Johan Manzambi moving across to the left.

We saw a brief period against Brentford where Villa changed the positions of their attacking players, and I think the flexibility within that group is something Emery will increasingly look to use as the season progresses.

Manzambi has made a very encouraging start to his Aston Villa career, and I really enjoy watching him play, particularly the way he moves with the ball and carries possession through opposition players. McGinn remains an important part of the team, while Emiliano Buendia has also contributed, although he took some heavy challenges against Brentford and may benefit from having his minutes managed.

The difficulty for Emery is finding opportunities for the likes of Mbaye, Alyyson and Alejandro Garnacho without disrupting the players who are already performing well.

Garnacho was again an unused substitute against Brentford, although I actually thought the circumstances of that particular match made his omission understandable. Ruggeri's injury forced Emery into an adjustment he probably hadn't planned to make, and the way the scoreline changed in the closing stages meant there was never an obvious moment to introduce Garnacho.

That doesn't change the fact that Villa need to start seeing more of him, particularly when you consider the attacking options Emery now has available.

Neil made the point during our discussion that Villa have three exciting attacking players who haven't really had the opportunity to complete the bedding-in process, and that's an unusual situation for a manager to find himself in. Normally you might have one new player trying to establish himself alongside a group who already understand the system, whereas Emery is attempting to integrate several at the same time.

It is understandable that he wants to do that at his own pace, because we have seen throughout his time at Villa that he places enormous importance on players understanding their responsibilities before becoming regular starters.

However, the fixture schedule is now going to make rotation increasingly necessary, and that should provide opportunities for players who have spent much of the opening weeks watching from the substitutes' bench.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see at least one of Mbaye, Alyyson or Garnacho start against Fenerbahce, and I would certainly expect more changes when Villa face Viking in their following Champions League fixture.

There is a balance to be struck because Villa want to build on their opening European victory and put themselves in a strong position in the league phase, but they also need to make sure the squad is being used effectively with so many important matches coming up.

The defensive injuries are an obvious concern, and they have removed some of the flexibility Emery would ideally like to have, but there is still an enormous amount of attacking quality available to him.

We have spent much of the opening weeks talking about what Villa have lost over the summer and how their replacements are settling in, but the next couple of weeks should give us a much better opportunity to assess the depth of the squad.

I'm particularly excited about seeing how the new attacking players are introduced, because there is a lot of potential within that group, and I think we are only just beginning to see what this version of Aston Villa might eventually become.