Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has delivered our latest team news ahead of facing Lille in our round-of-16 Europa League first-leg clash.
Villa travel to France on Thursday evening looking to return home with a positive result to put ourselves in a strong position ahead of the return leg next week, but our recent slump in form has undoubtedly raised concerns.
With every game being crucial across the Premier League and Europe between now and the end of the season, it would be an ideal time to rediscover our form and previously high level of performance starting against Lille, but there was mixed news on the injury front ahead of the encounter.
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The good news is that Villa welcome back captain John McGinn from injury, with the 31-year-old sidelined since January 18 after suffering a knee issue. Emery even went as far as to say that the Villa skipper could perhaps return to the starting line-up immediately, but surely that is unlikely in order to protect him and avoid any immediate setbacks.
However, Matty Cash hasn’t made the trip with the rest of the Villa squad after he picked up a muscle problem in our defeat to Chelsea last time out, and so it remains to be seen if the additional days of recovery will be enough for him to feature against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Villa right-back joins Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans on the sidelines, but both Andres Garcia and Harvey Elliott were seen in group training this week, and so the expectation is that the pair will be available for selection, with Ellliott’s clause not applying to European competition, thus he is likely to feature.
“He’s here,” Emery said on McGinn, speaking at his pre-match press conference. “It’s important, but every player is important.
“Maybe as a captain, as well, he is adding something more, and he is coming back. We are happy, and try to recover his rhythm as soon as possible.
“But tomorrow, he is here, and he can play even in the beginning, or after.”
Villa will be desperate for a positive result to get back on track and lift spirits and confidence, and although it certainly promises to be a difficult assignment against Lille, it’s hoped that we’re able to return home with an advantage to protect in the second leg as we look to advance to the quarter-finals stage.