Aston Villa face Olympiacos in the second leg of our Europa Conference League semi-final tie on Thursday, and Unai Emery has provided our latest team news ahead of the encounter.
Villa arrive in Piraeus looking to overturn a 4-2 deficit from the first leg last week, and so it promises to be a difficult challenge to try and keep our European dream alive.
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After a tired performance in our defeat at Brighton on Sunday, the players will no doubt have to dig deep to produce a performance that puts us in a position to win the tie, and Emery would have been hoping for positive news on the injury front to give his squad a lift.
As per the Villa boss in his pre-match press conference, he has confirmed that Emiliano Martinez has travelled with the squad after he was seen taking part in group training this week, but a late decision will be made on whether or not he’s fit enough and has sufficiently recovered from his hamstring injury to start.
“I will speak with him and the doctor to see if he is 100% fit to play, but I believe in Olsen and I’m building the team not just with the players in the starting XI,” he told the media. “If we did that we would be dead now because we’ve had a lot of players injured. Tomorrow if he is available 100% he will play but if not then he will not play.”
Ultimately, given the fact that Martinez has stepped up his preparations in the last couple of days after missing our last two outings, combined with the decision for him to travel with the squad to Greece, it all points toward his involvement on Thursday night.
With Villa’s European campaign on the line, all concerned will be desperate to have him in the Villa starting line-up given his influence and the impact he’s capable of making. That said, if there is a real risk of him aggravating the problem and having to be replaced during the game again and face a lengthier spell on the sidelines,, then it’s arguably a risk not worth taking given the bigger picture.
Time will tell what Emery, Martinez and the medical staff decide on Thursday, but it will hopefully be positive news and he’ll be named in the Villa XI ahead of kick-off.
