STEVEN GERRARD is hoping new boy Philippe Coutinho will prove he is ready to face Manchester United on Saturday.
The on loan £140million Barcelona midfielder linked up with his new team-mates at Bodymoor Heath on Tuesday.
And Villa will analyse his fitness over the next couple of days to determine how close he is to being ready.
Gerrard said: “Philippe will be with us on Tuesday.
“We’ll analyse him on Wednesday to see how he’s feeling.
“Then we’ll look at the data to determine if he plays – but we are hoping to have him involved.”
Gerrard said he believes the Brazilian can make a difference for him with Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore at the Africa Cup of Nations and Leon Bailly injured.
He said: “We knew we’d got an injury with Bailey and we’re losing a couple to AFCON.
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“So we are short in that area, it’s not fair to throw kids in.
“There’s a lot going on in the number 10 area but we felt we needed another body who could make a real difference with his quality.”
Villa fell to a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last night.
Coutinho has faced Manchester United 11 times during his career and only been on the losing side twice.
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