Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has provided our latest team news ahead of our Europa Conference League tie with Lille on Thursday night.
Villa host the Ligue 1 side in the first leg this week, and it will be vital that we take a positive result into the return fixture in France in seven days time, as we aim to advance to the last four.
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Following the disappointment of our draw with Brentford last weekend, it’s hoped that there will be a reaction from the players, as we go deeper into the crunch period of the season where our top-four aspirations in the Premier League and hopes for silverware are on the line.
In order to have the best possible chance of achieving a successful conclusion to the campaign, Emery would certainly benefit from good news on the injury front and having as close to a full squad at his disposal as possible, but we’ll still be without a number of players this week.
“The injured players we have are Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “They are progressing well, starting to be on the field. Kamara as well and Jacob Ramsey are out for the rest of the season.
“The last player who has some problems and is unavailable for tomorrow is Cash, who is working alone and he’s close to start practicing with us.
“Lenglet has a small problem but is not available for tomorrow.”
Lenglet’s absence is a blow to an extent, as the Frenchman has featured more prominently in Europe so far this season, and so that takes away an important option for the Villa boss.
Nevertheless, that should mean that Pau Torres starts in midweek, perhaps alongside Diego Carlos with Ezri Konsa at right-back, as we’ll try to compete on two fronts this week while going with our strongest possible XI.
In contrast, it’s a real boost to hear that Cash is edging closer to a return from his hamstring injury, with the Villa defender posting on social media on Tuesday with the suggestion that he is indeed close to resuming group training.
That in turn will allow Konsa to shift back into his favoured centre-half role, with Cash offering an important balance to the team with what he provides on the right side.
It would come as no surprise if Emery goes with his best XI on Thursday, as despite having a trip to Arsenal to think about at the weekend, we need a positive result in the home leg against Lille, and that will hopefully provide everyone with a lift going into Sunday’s trip to the Emirates.