This article is part of Football FanCast's Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba's haircuts to League Two relegation battles...

When Frederic Guilbert was booked during Aston Villa's 2-2 draw against Manchester United, it confirmed that he would be suspended for Wednesday night's game against Chelsea.

This led to many Villa fans posting about their concerns for the match at Stamford Bridge, due to the fact that Ahmed El Mohamady would be playing at right-back, rather than the Frenchman.

Dean Smith's side may have ended up losing the game 2-1, following a goal and assist from former loanee Tammy Abraham, but the Egyptian put in an impressive performance to prove his doubters wrong.

The right-back, who is rated £2.7m on Transfermarkt, had a big say in Villa's best moment of the game, as it was his pinpoint cross into the Chelsea box that led to Trezeguet's goal.

Outside of that, the 32-year-old also managed two key passes, completed the one tackle that he attempted and made three clearances and two interceptions.

Looking at these statistics, it would be difficult to suggest that El Mohamady was a weak link in the Villa team.

In truth, it can be seen as a pretty harsh judgement of the Egyptian that there were concerns about his place in the team in the first place.

This is because it can be suggested that he was originally taken out of the team due to Guilbert's quality, rather than his own shortcomings.

Across his three league starts and four substitute appearances, El Mohamady has averaged 0.9 tackles, 1 interception and 1.7 clearances, highlighting his defensive abilities.

Calling all Premier League experts: Who do these unique statistics belong to? Find out below....

In addition, he also makes 1.3 key passes and 1 accurate cross each match, while maintaining a pass success rate of 85.5%.

He may not be able to usurp Guilbert, but El Mohamady has definitely shown that he can be a trustworthy member of the Villa backline.

In other news, Villa fans have been responding to reports that one of their players could be sold during the January transfer window.