Aston Villa face Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday, and here’s how Unai Emery’s starting line-up could look.
Villa arrive in Piraeus with a 4-2 deficit to overturn after a setback last week in the first leg, and so we have our work cut out for us if we want to secure a place in the final in Athens later this month.
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However, with Emery’s experience and brilliance at this level coupled with the players being desperate to win silverware and having the quality to score goals, there is still hope that we can turn the tie on its head and advance.
The Villa boss would have been hoping for positive news on the injury front for this encounter though given we’ve had to cope with countless absentees over the course of the season, and there was a boost with the news that Emiliano Martinez has travelled to Greece with the rest of the squad.
That said, Emery remained coy on the chances of the Argentine shot-stopper starting as he’s missed our last two games with a hamstring issue – albeit he was suspended for the first leg anyway – and so it will be a late decision on whether or not he can feature.
“We have some players close to coming back but I don’t know exactly if they can play tomorrow or not,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “I prefer to wait for tomorrow with the players we have here in the squad and then decide.
On Emi Martínez: “I don’t know if he’s going to be available tomorrow.
“He is with us today. He was injured last week after the match against Chelsea, 10 days.
“Tomorrow I will speak with him and the doctor if he is 100% available to play. But if not, I believe in Robin Olsen.”
Martinez boost expected, Villa struggling with absences
Given he has made the trip and was seen in group training this week, there is optimism that Martinez will get the nod and return to the Villa line-up for this crunch encounter.
If it’s decided that he’s at risk of aggravating the problem and could force us into a potentially early change, it will be Robin Olsen to continue instead as he looks to build on his improved effort against Brighton on Sunday.
In defence, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne are likely to form our backline, with that quartet giving us balance and attacking quality down the flanks to hopefully add a threat to our play as we go in search of goals. Pau’s return to the line-up after being rested in the first leg will be pivotal in itself given his quality in possession and importance to our build-up play.
Alex Moreno would arguably be the ideal option on the left for this situation, but given the Spaniard only returned from injury at the weekend and lacks match fitness, it’s expected that Digne will keep his spot.
Injuries are severely limiting Emery and so he’ll have to patch a midfield together. Leon Bailey, John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Nicolo Zaniolo may well be the four he goes with, as it’s unclear at this stage if Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans are ruled out due to injury.
Zaniolo himself missed out at the weekend, and so hopefully the Italian playmaker can recover to start this one with his previous experience in the competition.
That in turn would see Moussa Diaby provide support behind Ollie Watkins in the final third, and it’s hoped that we get a clinical and ruthless performance in front of goal if chances come our way, as it will take a superb Villa team performance for us to turn this around and book our place in the final.
Diego Carlos, Moreno and Jhon Duran will lead the way in terms of senior options on the bench, and while we’ll hopefully have no need for them to come on and impact the game, they have to be ready to make a positive impact if called upon.