How could Aston Villa line up for Premier League opener?

Right wing: Scott Sinclair
Like Richards, ex-Man City player Sinclair shall be looking to rebuild his career at Villa, and is set to esablish himself ahead of Charles N’Zogbia in the pecking order.

Delph’s replacement Gueye can expect to come straight into midfield with Tom Cleverley moving to Everton after his loan spell ended. Another anchorman Carlos Sanchez is an alternative.

Central midfield: Ashley Westwood
Crewe Alexandra academy product Westwood has a key role to play in the engine room following Delph’s departure. Young Gary Gardner impressed on loan at Nottingham Forest, and clearly has a future at Villa, which is more than can be said for Spanish winter window signing Carles Gil or Joe Cole, whose career is coming to an end.

Left wing: Jack Grealish
Sherwood shall surely overlook Grealish’s unfortunate holiday snaps and make this talented youngster knuckle down. That remarkable effect the manager has on youngsters should mean Aleksandar Tonev will struggle to get into Villa’s XI after a hit-and-miss loan spell at Celtic which was punctuated by controversy.

At the time of writing, the deal for the younger Ayew brother is almost done after elder sibling Andre earlier moved from Marseille to Swansea City. Gabriel Agbonlahor’s place could come under threat despite his clubman status.

Striker: Emmanuel Adebayor
It’s long been expected that Sherwood will move for former Spurs charge Adebayor, and we expect an all-African attack with the Togo frontman joining Ghana international Ayew up top. Libor Kozak could yet prove his worth leading the line, however, after returning from a broken leg.

Villa hold odds of 4/1 to break into the top 10.