Aston Villa will entertain Lille at Villa Park this Thursday night as they look to secure a win in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 clash. The Villans suffered a 3-1 loss away at Manchester United recently, so they would be eager to put in a much-improved showing in midweek.
Unai Emery will set his players up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make a handful of changes to his first team for this game. Douglas Luiz, Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen could all play from the start of this contest.
4-2-3-1 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Lille
Defence
Emiliano Martinez will operate in between the sticks for the Villans after conceding three goals in his last outing. Ezri Konsa will play alongside Pau Torres at the centre of the Aston Villa backline as they look to keep things solid at the back during the 90 minutes.
Matty Cash will try to catch the eye as the right-back, while Ian Maatsen looks to put in a solid performance on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will have to pick and choose their moments to join in on the attack.
Tyrone Mings will offer cover for the centre-back positions on the bench.
Midfield
Amadou Onana and Douglas Luiz will anchor the midfield for the Villans as they look to win the 50-50 battles at the centre of the park and engineer some decent chances in the final third.
The gifted trio of Jadon Sancho, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn will operate just ahead of them as part of the Aston Villa attack. All three of them need to be at the top of their game if the Villans are to earn a good result in midweek.
Ross Barkley will have to settle for a place on the bench as he waits for his chance to influence the game in the second 45 minutes if needed. However, Emiliano Buendia is a minor concern ahead of this clash.
Attack
Ollie Watkins will lead the line for the Villans up top. He has to find a way to be a real menace in front of the opponent’s goal.
Tammy Abraham will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to make an impact in the final quarter of the game if required.
