Unai Emery’s Aston Villa will hit the road to square up against French giants LOSC Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16.
The home team failed to secure an automatic spot in the round of 16, as they could only manage an 18th-place finish in the league phase. Lille squared up against Serbian outfit Crvena Zvezda in the playoffs.
While they lost the first leg at home, the French club bounced back and secured a 2-1 win on aggregate to set up this tie against Aston Villa. Les Dogues have been in decent form of late, winning three out of their last four outings. But Lille are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-1 draw against FC Lorient and will have to do much better to take down Emery’s team.
The visitors were a force to reckon with during the league phase as they finished second. They won seven out of their eight outings to secure an automatic spot in the last 16. Aston Villa are among the favourites to win the title, and they will certainly be confident about taking down Lille.
However, the West Midlands outfit have not been in the best of form, having failed to win any of their last four outings. Villa are heading into this fixture on the back of a 4-1 thrashing against Chelsea, and will be hoping to get their season back on track with a win in the first leg. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
The home team will remain without the services of Marc-Aurele Caillard (elbow), Osame Sahraoui (groin), Hamza Igamane (ACL), Ethan Mbappe (thigh), and Ousmane Toure (knee) due to injury.
Lille are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 formation in this home fixture against Aston Villa. Berke Ozer will be an automatic pick in goal for them. Meanwhile, Tiago Santos and Romain Perraud will feature as the full-backs, while Aissa Mandi will pair up with Nathan Ngoy in the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Benjamin Andre will take up the holding role, while Ayyoub Bouaddi and Nabil Bentaleb will be in his support in the centre of the park. The trio will look to ensure Aston Villa midfielders do not run the show.
Hakon Haraldsson and Felix Correia will feature on the flanks for the French club, providing much-needed width to their attacks. Finally, Olivier Giroud will be lead the line for LOSC Lille against Aston Villa on Thursday.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ozer; Santos, Ngoy, Mandi, Perraud; Bentaleb, Andre, Bouaddi; Haraldsson, Giroud, Correia
The visitors will also be without quite a few first-team stars, as Youri Tielemans (ankle), Boubacar Kamara (knee), and Andres Garcia (thigh) remain on the sidelines. John McGinn has recovered from his knee injury, but this fixture might have come a touch too early for him. Meanwhile, Matty Cash (calf) and Harvey Elliott (unspecified) will be assessed ahead of kick-off.
Aston Villa will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where Emiliano Martinez will be in goal. Matty Cash and Ian Maatsen are expected to be the full-backs, while Ezri Konsa will start alongside Tyrone Mings as the centre-backs.
As for the midfield unit, Amadou Onana and Douglas Luiz will form the double pivot in the centre of the park. They will shield the backline and look to control the tempo of the game.
Jadon Sancho and Emiliano Buendia will feature on the flanks, providing width to their attacks. Morgan Rogers will take up the number ten role, while Ollie Watkins is expected to spearhead the Aston Villa attack against LOSC Lille on Thursday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana; Sancho, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins
Rogers has been one of the standout performers for Aston Villa this season. The Englishman has been involved in 40 matches in all competitions, and he has contributed towards 17 goals (10 goals, 7 assists).
While his overall form has been great, he only has one goal in his eight Europa League outings. More importantly, the 23-year-old has not found the back of the net in any of his last five outings. As a result, Rogers will be eager to step up and deliver in this fixture.
LOSC Lille will look to make the most of the home advantage at Stade Pierre-Mauroy as they host Aston Villa in the first leg. Les Dogues have been in decent form of late, and they will be confident about troubling the visitors, especially with their energetic midfield and experienced presence in attack.
However, Aston Villa possess greater quality across the pitch, and they have shown throughout the competition that they can rise to the occasion. Despite their recent dip in form, Unai Emery’s team have the attacking firepower to hurt Lille, and they could edge a closely contested affair to take a narrow advantage into the second leg. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for the away team.
