The State of Play
The fatigue of a long and hard season in which Aston Villa have played European football for the first time in well over a decade may just be kicking in as they begin to fade in the league but they should comfortably finish in the top five. If they win this competition, the likelihood is that a top five spot will be enough to guarantee UEFA Champions League qualification as a result of the expanded tournament giving the best two performing nations an extra spot.
Former Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma boss Paulo Fonseca is in charge of an impressive Lille side and he has cultivated an easy on the eye style of football that is full of plenty of attacking talent, such as Canadian international. However, unusually, they key aspect of their impressive campaign thus far has been defensively with over 20 clean sheets for Lille across all competitions.
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Team News
Unai Emery has been dealing with long-term injury issues throughout the campaign with Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia and Jacob Ramsey missing for the rest of this season. Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara are also unavailable for the Villains.
Paulo Fonseca and Lille have been dealt a major blow ahead of this week’s trip to the English midlands with English midfielder Angel Gomes now unavailable due to a hamstring injury. Samuel Umtiti and Rafael Fernandes are also among those sidelined through injury.
Expected Line-ups
Aston Villa: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Douglas Luiz, Tielemans; Bailey, McGinn, Diaby; Watkins
Lille: Chevalier; Santos, Yoro, Alexsandro, Ismaily; Haraldsson, Andre, Bentaleb; Zhegrova, David, Cabella
What they Said
In the aftermath of Aston Villa’s 3-3 draw with Brentford on Saturday afternoon, Unai Emery was critical of the team’s performance but said it is up to him to ‘correct it’ as we head into the run in.
Paulo Fonseca has praised his own players but also talked of the belief he has in his Lille side to get something from this tie. “I really believe in my players, and we’re going to fight hard to overcome the great obstacle that is Aston Villa.”
When and How to Watch
This match is being played at Villa Park at 20:00 on Thursday April 11th and will be televised live on TNT Sports in the UK. It will also be able to be streamed live on the TNT Sports app in the UK.
Prediction
As we head into the first-leg of the final eight of the UEFA Europa Conference League, these are two of the leading contenders for the trophy. Any Premier League side that goes into this competition has to be ranked as one of, if not the, favourites due to their budget but Lille are another side from one of Europe’s so-called ‘big five leagues’ that will seek to target the trophy moving forward. Lille, especially with their impressive defensive record, will make it tough for Villa but the Villains remain firm favourites for this first-leg given how strong they are at Villa Park under Emery.
