Steven Gerrard: 'No one's a bigger fan of Buendia than me'

Steven Gerrard cited a recent injury for the absence of Emiliano Buendia from Aston Villa's starting line-up so far this season and declared himself the playmaker's biggest fan.

Buendia has had to play a secondary role to Philippe Coutinho under Gerrard, starting only four of the final 14 games last season.

The Argentinian again came off the bench on Saturday against Everton, taking the place of Coutinho, and had a hugely positive impact on Villa, seeing a shot cleared off the line before creating and scoring the second goal in a 2-1 victory.

Coutinho required treatment for a physical issue, but Gerrard expects him to be fit for next weekend's clash with Crystal Palace, so he will have to choose between the two players again.

The Villa boss said: "We've got good players. We've got really good options in the final third, and Emi Buendia will start football matches for this team, and he'll start them for me.

"He was winning the race for the starting slot, and he got a muscle injury in a behind-closed-doors match against Fulham and missed close to a week. Then his training performance was slightly off from where he was prior to the injury, so we've been patient with him.

"We haven't felt the need to risk him and start him from the beginning. I think I've done the right thing with Emi, which is to protect his health first and foremost. We put him on when the team needed energy and quality, and he delivered, and no one's a bigger fan of Emi Buendia than me."

The three points got Villa on the board for the season, but Everton are still looking for their first positive result after an opening loss to Chelsea.

Villa was full value for their two-goal advantage, but Everton belatedly found a goal threat and after new signing Amadou Onana