W ith the UEFA Champions League about to enter its knockout phase next week after the final round of league phase play last week, Europe's top clubs had big decisions to make rega

But with Villa suffering something of a defensive crisis, Emery has instead opted for centre-back Alex Disasi, a deadline day loan signing from Chelsea. Fellow loan signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio have also been picked. He said: “The rules only can register three changes. We changed five players and only we can register three.

Unai Emery has left Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia out of Aston Villa ’s squad for the Champions League knockout phase. Villa signed Malen from Borussia Dortmund last month in a deal worth €23 million (£19m) plus €3m (£2.5m) in add-ons, while Garcia joined in a £7m move from Spanish side Levante.

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Marcus Rashford joined Aston Villa in the January transfer window, with boss Unai Emery already being forced to make difficult decisions when naming his Champions League squad

Listen to Sportsound and follow live text updates of Celtic's final league phase fixture in the Champions League against Aston Villa.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery ‘argued’ with two of his January signings after being forced to exclude them from the club’s Champions League squad. Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia will not feature for the Villans in the knockout phase of the European competition.

The January window has left Man City, Aston Villa and Spurs with some UEFA registration dilemmas; most teams can only register three new players between the league phase and the knockout rounds - City,

Striker Marcus Rashford believes he can help Aston Villa enjoy a deep run in the Champions League after on Sunday joining on loan from Manchester United for the rest of the season.

Marcus Rashford, Axel Disasi and Marco Asensio, however, have been added to Villa's squad for the UCL knockout phase.