Melbourne City coach John van ‘t Schip has confirmed star Spaniard David Villa will feature during Saturday night’s Hyundai A-League Round One clash against Sydney FC.
The Dutchman though refused to speculate whether Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer will start or make an appearance off the bench.
“He’s going to be a part of the game, we’ll just see which part,” van’t Schip said prior to training on Friday morning.
“Now we’re having something going on that we think [of] what’s the best for [Villa], because we know he is not able to play a full game.”
Question marks loom over the 2010 Wold Cup winner’s fitness, considering the 32-year-old’s last competitive fixture was against the Socceroos in the World Cup on June 23rd.
City though have only played one competitive match since the close of the 2013-14 season, a 3-1 defeat to Sydney FC in their Round of 32 FFA Cup tie in August.
The former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid forward had undertaken a personal training program during his time in New York as preparation for the upcoming season.
“I think that’s an expectation that you should have,” van’t Schip said commenting on the Spaniard’s fitness.
“We had good contact with them (Villa’s management) when they were in New York about his physical situation and what he was doing, so we knew that when he would come here that he would be in physically good condition.
“We know that he is fit, that he can play, that he wants to play.”
Fellow international imports Robbert Koren and Damien Duff are expected to take their place in the starting line-up.
Depending on Villa’s selection, either Mate Dugandzic or David Williams could drop to the bench.
New signing Erik Paartalu is almost assured of a Melbourne City debut since returning to the A-League from a stint overseas, while youth team full-back Ross Archibald a chance to line-up at right-back in the absence of a host of regulars.
Melbourne City open up their campaign against Sydney FC tomorrow night at Allianz Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30pm.