Matty Cash suspension leaves Aston Villa with a selection dilemma ahead of Manchester United

Aston Villa will be without Matty Cash for Sunday's trip to Old Trafford after the Polish international picked up his fifth Premier League yellow card of the season during the 1-1 draw with Fulham, and his absence comes at a particularly awkward time for Unai Emery, who is already having to manage a number of issues within his defensive options.

Cash has become an increasingly important player for Villa, and while there has been plenty of discussion about the changes made to the squad over the summer, he is one of the established players whose importance has arguably grown as the season has progressed. He understands exactly what Emery wants from his full-backs, has developed a good understanding of the demands of playing in this system and offers a level of consistency that isn't always easy to replace.

I think Cash deserves a lot of credit for the way he has developed under Emery. There have been periods during his Villa career when his place in the team has been questioned, but he has continued to improve, particularly in terms of his positioning and decision-making, and I would argue that he is a better all-round defender now than he was a couple of years ago.

The difficulty for Villa this weekend is that Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who would ordinarily be the natural replacement, is still working his way back from injury, and at the time of writing there remains some uncertainty over whether he will be available to face his former club.

If Wan-Bissaka isn't ready, Lamare Bogarde and Victor Lindelöf would appear to be the two most obvious alternatives, although both would present slightly different considerations for Emery.

Bogarde has played at right-back on a number of occasions and is comfortable with the tactical responsibilities of the position, particularly when Villa have possession and the full-back is required to move into midfield areas. He's a player Emery clearly trusts, and while I still think his long-term future is probably in midfield, his versatility has been useful for Villa. However, I didn't think he was particularly convincing the last time we saw him, and there would be an element of concern about throwing him into a game of this magnitude on the back of that performance.

Lindelöf is another possibility, particularly given his experience and familiarity with Manchester United, but I would be reluctant to move him away from central defence. For me, he has probably been Villa's most consistent performer this season, and when you consider the changes that have already taken place in that area of the pitch, taking your most reliable centre-back out of his natural position to solve another problem doesn't seem particularly appealing. He's developed a good understanding of what Emery wants from him and I would much rather see that consistency maintained, particularly in a game like this.

There is, however, another option that I would be interested in seeing Emery consider, and that is João Gomes. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether this might actually be the direction Emery goes in.

I wrote about Gomes playing at right-back following his appearance there in the Champions League earlier this season, and I liked what I saw. It's obviously not his natural position, and I'm not suggesting that Villa should suddenly look to convert him into a full-back, but I thought there were some encouraging aspects to the way he approached the role.

Gomes has the athleticism to cover ground, he's aggressive in his defensive work and, perhaps most importantly, he's comfortable receiving the ball in central areas and playing under pressure. Those are all qualities that can be useful in the way Emery asks his right-back to operate, particularly when Villa are building possession and looking to create an additional player in midfield.

There could also be a tactical advantage to using Gomes there that goes beyond simply finding a replacement for Cash. Manchester United have had their problems in the middle of the pitch this season, and I wonder whether Emery might see an opportunity to exploit that by asking Gomes to move inside when Villa have possession. It could give Villa an overload in central areas, allowing them to get an extra player around the ball and potentially take advantage of an area where United have struggled. It would also be a slightly unexpected selection, and the movements of Gomes between right-back and midfield could present United with a problem they haven't necessarily prepared for.

Of course, moving Gomes out of midfield would create another decision, but there could be a fairly straightforward solution to that particular problem in Ross Barkley.

Jacob Tanswell suggested during a recent appearance on my podcast that Barkley could be in line to start against Manchester United, and while that doesn't necessarily mean Gomes would be the player to make way in midfield, it does make the possibility of him moving to right-back a little more interesting.

Barkley has the experience and technical ability to operate in those deeper areas, and alongside Boubacar Kamara, he would give Villa a midfield pairing capable of looking after the ball and helping the team establish some control. It would also allow Emery to keep Gomes in the side, rather than having to choose between his qualities in midfield and finding a replacement for Cash.

I wouldn't be surprised if Emery went down that route, particularly given that we have already seen Gomes used in the position in the Champions League. It wouldn't be an entirely new experiment, and there is a logic to it when you consider the other options available and the possibility of Barkley coming into the team.

What makes Cash's suspension particularly frustrating is that it comes immediately after Villa's difficult evening in Barcelona, with Emery needing a response from his players against a Manchester United side who will have taken encouragement from their Champions League victory over Roma.

Villa have had some excellent results this season, most notably against Manchester City, but there have also been performances where the balance of the team hasn't been quite right, and the challenge now is to find a way of producing another strong display away from home without one of their most dependable defenders.

My preference would obviously be to have Wan-Bissaka available, because he offers a natural solution and would allow Emery to keep the rest of his defensive structure largely intact. If he isn't ready, Bogarde and Lindelöf remain perfectly reasonable options, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Gomes moved across with Barkley coming into midfield.

Cash will only miss one Premier League game, but given the opposition, the venue and Villa's current defensive situation, it's a suspension that could prove more disruptive than it initially appeared.