After falling to defeat to last time out in the Premier League, Aston Villa will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they take on Everton on Thursday night.

Dean Smith's side took the lead against Manchester United last weekend thanks to a superb strike from Bertrand Traore, but a contentious penalty call swung things in the away side's favour, eventually resulting in a 3-1 loss.

The Villa boss has some major decisions to make in terms of his team selection, with the likes of Jack Grealish returning, and Ollie Watkins missing out through suspension.

And, with the top-flight season almost over, these last couple of games might present the perfect opportunity for him to hand some of the club's academy stars a chance in the first-team.

So, with that all in mind, below is a look at how Villa might line up when Everton come to town.

aston-villa-predicted-lineup

In goal, Emi Martinez will be hoping to keep his 15th clean sheet of the Premier League season, and close the Golden Gloves gap to second-placed Edouard Mendy to just one in the process.

The back-four should also once again remain unchanged, with Smith likely to make changes further forward in midfield.

One of those could be a debut for 17-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka, who has surely been knocking on the door for a chance in the first-team given his performances at youth-team level - he even bagged a hat-trick against Newcastle in the last round of the FA Youth Cup.

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The teenager could be joined by another one of the club's young prospects in Jacob Ramsey, who has been one of the breakout stars of Villa's season thus far.

The big news for Villa fans will no doubt be the return of Grealish, with The Athletic even claiming that "the attacker will be available to Villa for the first time since February and there is a good chance he will start the clash".

The trio would all represent exciting changes from the starting line-up against United last week, and given their homegrown status, will have Villa fans excited too.

And up front, Keinan Davis is the man who is likely to replace the suspended Watkins, who received his marching orders late on at Villa Park.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Chukwuemeka; Traore, Ramsey, Grealish; Davis.

Meanwhile, Villa must axe this "stupid" ace tonight vs Everton...