Europa Conference League: against Aston Villa, Lille tackles (very) heavy

Thursday April 11, 2024 will be a historic date for Lille. The French club will be entitled to its first quarter-final in a European competition, in Birmingham. Marseille’s scorer last weekend, Lille is on a good dynamic, and whether in the league or the European Cup, Rémy Cabella’s teammates have not lost a match since February 25.

Facing the Mastiffs, the English club Aston Villa. Author of a surprising season with a current 5th place in the Premier League, tied with Tottenham (60 pts), the Villans are fighting for a ticket to the Champions League. Coached by the very experienced Unai Emery, Aston Villa is one of the favorites for a final victory in the Europa Conference League, with Fiorentina in particular.

Aston Villa: a worthy opponent

Concerning its recent results, the club founded in 1874 is on a bad streak, with an incredible draw (3-3) last Saturday against Brentford (15th in the English championship), and a big defeat against Manchester City on April 3. Lille will still have to be careful, because Aston Villa is full of surprises, with a well-oiled squad, notably composed of Frenchman Moussa Diaby (Ex-PSG and Bayer Leverkusen), Leon Bailey, John Mcgin and Ollie Watkins.

Spanish coach Unai Emery also represents a threat to Losc. Very experienced on the European scene, the former Paris Saint-Germain player brought joy to Sevilla FC for three years, winning the Europa League 3 times in a row (2014-2015-2016). He’s a bit like the Zinédine Zidane of the competition, which he won for the last time in 2021, with Villarreal.

On the pitch, the meeting promises a great spectacle with the possible presence of very technical and efficient players like Edon Zhegrova or Rémy Cabella for Lille, Youri Tielemans as well as Nicoló Zaniolo for Aston Villa. It will also be time for a reunion for a player in particular, Lucas Digne. The French defender began his professional career with Losc between 2011 and 2013, before joining Paris.