Aston Villa face Lille in the second leg of our Europa Conference League quarter-finals tie, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up.
Villa arrive at the Stade Pierre Mauroy with a 2-1 lead from the first leg last week, with goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn putting us in charge before Bafode Diakite grabbed a late goal for the visitors.
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With Emiliano Martinez producing a string of key saves, Villa will be fully aware of how difficult a test this will be, and so it’s hoped that we can produce a top performance to successfully advance to the last four.
Given what’s at stake and the difficulty of both the opposition and being on the road, the expectation was that Emery would name a strong Villa XI, and as seen in the club’s tweet below, that is certainly the case.
The Villa boss makes two changes to the side that beat Arsenal on Sunday, with Matty Cash returning from injury to replace Diego Carlos in defence, while Douglas Luiz is available in Europe as he serves his domestic suspension, and he comes in for Morgan Rogers in our midfield.
Cash’s return is an important boost for Emery given the balance he brings to the backline, with Ezri Konsa able to shift back into the middle, while Carlos gets a well-earned rest.
As for Luiz, he’ll need to be at his sharpest and most influential in this one, as Emery will be looking to the Brazilian international to help us control the game and keep Lille in check.
It promises to be a tough evening in France, but given the strength of this Villa side coupled with the attacking options available on the bench, we’ll hopefully get the job done and book our spot in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
Representing Aston Villa in France! 👊 pic.twitter.com/liaD4vFKN6
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 18, 2024