Aston Villa will face either Hibernian of FC Luzern in the Europa Conference League playoff round with both legs of the tie to be played later this month.
Having enjoyed a superb turnaround following the appointment of Unai Emery last November, Villa went from being precariously placed above the relegation zone to securing a seventh-place finish in the Premier League on the final day of the campaign.
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That in turn sealed a place in the playoff round of the Europa Conference League to qualify for the group stage, and with draw being concluded on Monday, it has now been confirmed that we’ll face either Hibernian or Luzern.
The first leg will be away and played on August 24, before the two sides meet again in the second leg on August 31 at Villa Park, and so it promises to be a hectic schedule for Emery and the players in the first month of the new season.
Nevertheless, we’ll hopefully find the right balance and rotate where needed to ensure we get the results required to advance, while also making a positive start in the league to build on our progress last year.
While we’ve had two important experiences against top European opposition in pre-season having picked up wins over Lazio and Valencia, Emery’s pedigree and know-how will be fundamental moving forward, given the success that he has enjoyed in European competitions for many years.
The Villa boss has made no secret of his desire to win trophies while at the club to continue his impressive haul over his career, and it’s hoped that we’ll enjoy a deep run in Europe in his first full season in charge.
First though, we have to successfully navigate our way through the playoff round, and it certainly won’t be a straight-forward task as the players still have much to prove about their ability to deliver in a setting many of them haven’t yet experienced.
Hibernian and Luzern will meet on August 10 and 17 to determine who advances to face us, and so time will tell if it’s Easter Road or the Swissporarena that we’ll be visiting in a few weeks time.
