Aston Villa and Lille will duke it out at Villa Park on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final tie.
Back in Europe after a 13-year absence, Villa routed Ajax 4-0 in the Round of 16 decider last month, their most emphatic win to date in the competition.
Unai Emery, who saw his troops warm up for this clash with a 3-3 draw away to Brentford at the weekend in the Premier League, having relinquished a two-goal lead, has enjoyed an abundance of success on the European stage.
Standing Villa’s way will be a Lille side, who have been in stellar form, as they are unbeaten in their past seven games in all competitions.
Fresh from their 3-1 win over Marseille last weekend, Paulo Fonseca, who has been linked with various managerial jobs in the Premier League before, will be in high spirits as they maintain their push for a top-four spot in Ligue 1.
This has the ingredients of a European classic, and to guide you through, I have waded through the betting markets and selected a couple of tips for your perusal.
Aston Villa to take charge in the first leg
Perhaps the standout tie, Villa have been in ripe goalscoring mood, firing in 11 goals in their past five outings.
Emery, as mentioned, has cultivated a reputation of being the undisputed king of the Europa League, and he has won his last seven quarter-finals in UEFA club competition with Villarreal, Sevilla, Arsenal, and Valencia.
Indeed, he has only ever lost one last-eight tie, and that was with Valencia as they went down on away goals against Atletico Madrid, and he will want to transfer that success into the Europa Conference League.
Of course, Lille have a couple of potent weapons in their arsenal, including Jonathan David, who has improved immeasurably in front of goal over the past few seasons, while Edon Zhegrova possesses great technical ability and is the side’s chief creator.
Lille last visited Villa Park in 2002 in the Intertoto Cup, and on that occasion, the French outfit ran out 2-0 winners in the second leg of the semi-finals.
This time, however, I see things planning out a bit differently. With a raucous crowd behind them, Villa could seize the initiative in the first leg.
For my opening gambit, I have a hunch it could be a goal-laden game. I like the look of Villa to win, and there being four or more goals over the 90 minutes which is paying out at odds of 3/1 with William Hill.
Douglas Luiz to seal things nicely
Despite picking up a late yellow which will rule him out of Premier League duties against Arsenal this weekend, Douglas Luiz is free to play in Europe.
While the Brazilian midfielder can be a bit spiky, and he will have a job on his hands to cut out the supply to David, he has become more effective in front of goal this term.
Reaching double figures in all competitions is a pretty solid return, but he is still looking to open his Europa Conference League account.
Chances should be aplenty for Villa, and while Ollie Watkins has been formidable, the Villans aren’t reliant on him.
Luiz could bookend a strong performance for Villa and grab the last goal of the evening. Should you wish to follow up on that, bet365 has advertised a tasty price of 9/1.
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