Aston Villa face AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Given the quality of the opposition and the importance of securing a positive result with the group so tightly contested, the expectation was that Emery would name a strong XI, perhaps his strongest available.
READ MORE: What Emery said on Jhon Duran as Villa absence last weekend explained
Villa aren’t in action until Sunday afternoon in the Premier League this weekend as we host Luton Town, but the Spanish tactician undoubtedly has to find the right balance during a hectic period in the fixture schedule to keep everyone fresh.
Nevertheless, as expected, he has put out a strong Villa line-up, and it’s hoped that we’re able to produce a top performance and come away with three valuable points in Alkmaar.
There are four changes in total, with Diego Carlos, Clement Lenglet, Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey coming in for Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Nicolo Zaniolo and Moussa Diaby.
It’s a well-earned rest for Konsa who has been an ever-present for Villa so far this season, but ultimately it perhaps would have made sense to go full strength for this game given how difficult it is expected to be.
Emery though will feel confident in his decisions in our bid to get a positive result, and those coming in will hopefully give us that all-important control in the encounter that the Villa boss often emphasises, as we have a lot of technical ability in the side to dictate possession.
Jhon Duran is named on the bench after his absence at the weekend, and it’s a strong group in reserve too as we may well need them to come on in the latter stages and have an impact.
Villa bounced back well with a dramatic late win over Zrinjski last time out, but after falling to defeat to Legia Warsaw in our opener, we’ll hopefully have learned from that experience on the road and come out on top against a talented side in AZ Alkmaar.
Your Aston Villa team tonight! 👊 #UECL pic.twitter.com/TxthphJy1j
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 26, 2023
