Lille are set to face Aston Villa in the Europa League last 16 first leg. Aston Villa opened the season poorly, failing to win in their first six games. Unai Emery’s men then went on a run of 17 from 19. However, their following 15 fixtures yielded just six victories, and they arrive having lost three and drawn one of their last four.
Aston Villa’s Inconsistent Form
Aston Villa’s Champions League spot is now in serious jeopardy. The tie against Lille, the sixth-best team in Ligue 1, looks a lot more losable than would previously have been the case.
It’s not difficult to grasp why: any team would miss players as good as Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, never mind at the same time, with Matt E. Cash freshly absent. Aston Villa have scored nine goals fewer than the next-worst in the Premier League top six. The home tousing they took from Chelsea last time out highlighted their vulnerability to channel-balls in behind.
McGinn’s Return and Attacking Talent
Club captain John McGinn is fit again, his return bringing an uplift as much mental as technical. With attackers as talented as Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendía in their XI, they’re always a game away from clicking.
Aston Villa know that, in form, they’ve a serious shot at immortality but, out of it, only regret and shame await. Football is weird and so are people. Those of us without skin in the game now get to enjoy watching them squirm.
Starting Lineups
The Lille lineup is: Ozer; Santos, Mbemba, Mondi, Perroud; Mukou, Andre, Bentaleb; Perrin, Giroud, Haraldsson. Their subs are: Bodart, Lanssade, Ngoy, Alexsandro, Fernandez-Pardo, Miller, Edjouma, Verdonk, Correia, Bouaddi, Diaoune, Boussadia.
Aston Villa’s lineup is: Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Pau, Digne; Sancho, Luiz, Onana, Rogers; Buendia, Watkins. Their subs are: Bizot, Wright, Mings, Lindelof, Maatsen, Garcia, McGinn, Elliott, Bailey, Abraham.
The referee is José María Sánchez (Spain).
Aston Villa are in the midst of a weird season, still with plenty of scope for epochal glory and abject failure.