Aston Villa face a trip to Zrinjski as we conclude the group stage of the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening and look to seal top spot in Group E.
As things stand, we’ve already secured qualification for the knockout stage, but a point in Mostar will ensure we finish top and avoid the playoffs round of the competition.
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It’s been some turnaround in our European campaign thus far, as following a defeat to Legia Warsaw in our opening game, we eventually found a way past Zrinjski at home before finding our feet to put a four-game winning streak together.
Given the gruelling nature of this campaign and with our Premier League ambitions in mind, it would be ideal to avoid playing an extra two games in Europe, and so it’s vital we get the job done this week.
That said, Unai Emery is expected to make changes as he freshens things up and rests key individuals, but time will tell just how much rotation we see.
“Firstly, we want to respect the competition and then respect Zrinjski as well,” Emery said in his pre-match press conference, as per VillaTV. “We also want to play competitively and try to increase, individually and collectively, our process as a team.
“And tomorrow, we are here with the players who are available to play.
“I’m going to share as well because some players can feel tired, and I will decide tomorrow morning, but my idea at the beginning is try to play being competitive.
“With, of course, players playing regularly and with another one maybe who is not playing a lot of minutes.
“But I want to try to build and try to create a strong structure in our squad with the players.
“Tomorrow is a very good opportunity for someone to try to play and get minutes, get confidence and prepare the way for this season in different competitions being very competitive, like we are doing at the moment.”
Digne, Luiz to start with suspension ahead?
Neither Lucas Digne nor Douglas Luiz will feature on Sunday at Brentford due to suspension, and so with that rest time in mind, Emery could start the influential duo in this one.
Not only will that help them stay sharp, but it will maintain some consistency and familiarity in the Villa XI, as we look to avoid losing our balance and structure.
There could be a few absentees too though, as Robin Olsen wasn’t on the bench against Arsenal this past weekend, and the Swedish international wasn’t pictured in any training images this week.
That in turn could mean Emiliano Martinez is set to start, but there are likely to be multiple changes in the backline.
Matty Cash could be primed to come in having played a limited role in recent weeks, while Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos and Pau Torres could all be rested for this one.
Having impressed in his previous outings, Clement Lenglet is arguably a certainty to get the nod, with Calum Chambers perhaps coming into contention alongside him in the heart of the Villa defence, while Digne completes the back four.
In midfield, it would perhaps make sense to rest the likes of John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans too, while Leon Bailey’s status is unclear after he was replaced at half-time last time out.
With that in mind, Nicolo Zaniolo seems a shoe-in to come back into the Villa line-up, while this could be a great opportunity for Jacob Ramsey to get minutes and build his fitness and conditioning back up to peak level.
With the attacking duo starting out wide, Luiz and Leander Dendoncker could provide the backbone of the side, with the latter impressing off the bench in the latter stages against Arsenal in a crucial period in that win as he tries to put a run of form together.
Up top, Moussa Diaby will surely start having had a lesser role in the Premier League in recent games, while Ollie Watkins shouldn’t be risked in this one, and that in turn opens the door for Jhon Duran to get a chance to impress.
It will be interesting to see if Emery goes with a stronger line-up, but he’ll want to get the balance right and assess how his players are doing with a difficult assignment coming up on Sunday too.
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Zrinjski: Martinez; Cash, Chambers, Lenglet, Digne; Zaniolo, Dendoncker, Luiz, J. Ramsey; Diaby, Duran.
Any changes to the potential Villa XI above that you would like to see?
