The Argentine winger has not started a match since arriving on loan in July, and the trip to Coventry Building Society Arena for the third-round tie is where that is expected to change. Kick-off is at 8pm local time.

Villa are yet to win a Premier League match this season and lost 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. A rotated side at Coventry is the obvious cue for Garnacho, and the local reporting puts him in the predicted starting XI on the left wing, with the analysis calling him “the standout selection call”.

The 22-year-old joined on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy on 23 July, in a package Sky Sports reported meets Chelsea’s £42.6m valuation. It is less than 12 months since Chelsea paid Manchester United £40m for him.

Emery still waiting for his top-form Garnacho

Unai Emery, whose contract at Villa Park runs to 2029, has been careful to frame the slow start around attitude rather than output.

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“First is positive – his attitude. His attitude is very important, he is getting the commitment we need to achieve it,” Emery told reporters before the Nottingham Forest match, speaking to Sports Mole and other outlets.

“Now he needs time. Time, hard work every day, and he is showing it with his attitude.”

The bar Emery has set is explicit.

“We want him at the same level he was for Chelsea in the first part of last season and in Manchester two years ago,” the Spaniard said.

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Garnacho was left on the bench for last week’s 3-2 Champions League win at home to Club Brugge, and his league minutes have come in short spells off the bench.

Injuries force rotation as loan clause looms

Villa travel to Coventry with Ian Maatsen ruled out for six to eight weeks and Pau Torres sidelined for several weeks, forcing rotation before a Premier League match against Tottenham on Saturday. Coventry have made a poor start to their own Championship season, which is why the local preview tips a 2-1 away win.

For Garnacho, the fixture is the point in itself: a 90-minute audition for the Premier League minutes he has not been able to prise out of Emery on the evidence of training and cameo appearances alone.

There is also the transfer to consider. The obligation-to-buy clause in the loan is triggered by appearances, so the longer Garnacho remains on the bench, the more Chelsea’s route to a full sale narrows.

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“He is a player we have signed for a long time, and we will help him to feel comfortable and confident to get his quality,” Emery said.

Villa’s next Premier League match is against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, 19 September.

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