Aston Villa face Zrinjski in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
There was disappointment for Villa in the opening fixture of our European campaign, as we suffered a 3-2 defeat away at Legia Warsaw last month.
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With Emery opting to rotate and make changes for that trip to Poland, it has added pressure on us as we look to secure a place in the knockout stage, and so there has been an intriguing wait to see if the Villa decided to make a number of changes again or not.
Villa have secured three consecutive wins in the Premier League as we continue to impress domestically, but it’s crucial that we now transfer that form into Europe too as a win over Zrinjski – who picked up three points against AZ Alkmaar in their opener – will be vital to our hopes of advancing.
As seen below, Villa have made six changes to the side that started at the weekend, with Diego Carlos, Clement Lenglet, Youri Tielemans, Leander Dendoncker, Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran all coming in to start.
While that is still a strong XI with plenty of quality in it, it remains to be seen if it delivers the desired outcome of a win.
The likes of Lenglet, Tielemans and Dendoncker didn’t impress in previous opportunities, and so it’s a big night for them to put in a performance to show their ability to make an impact when needed.
Nevertheless, with Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, John McGinn and Nicolo Zaniolo, there are still a number of key individuals, and regular starters, in the Villa XI, and so it’s hoped we’ve got the balance right this time.
It’s a boost seeing Carlos back in the side after his recent injury, while talented youngster Tommi O’Reilly makes what is a strong bench and so that will be a good experience for him.
Emery confirmed this week that Jacob Ramsey, Moussa Diaby and Boubacar Kamara are all out due to injury, and so hopefully that was precautionary and they’ll be available to face Wolves on Sunday.
Your Aston Villa team tonight! 👊 #UECL pic.twitter.com/AkVCVmlsTG
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 5, 2023