Aston Villa hold a slender lead as they take on Lille in the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final, live on talkSPORT 2.
Unai Emery’s side won 2-1 at Villa Park in the first leg with goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn preceding Bafode Diakite’s strike.
Villa now just need to defend their lead or extend it to reach the final four of UEFA’s third-tier European competition.
And they’re in perfect form to do so, coming into this crucial game off the back of an incredible 2-0 win away at Arsenal on Sunday.
Lille vs Aston Villa: Wonderful Watkins
Watkins is putting up the best numbers of his career as he stars for Villa this season.
He has scored 19 times in the Premier League and sits one behind Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.
His goalscoring hasn’t been exclusive to domestic competition though, with that form translating to the European stage.
The 28-year-old has netted in four of his last five Conference League appearances, with Phil Foden and Harry Kane the only Englishmen to score more on the continent.
Watkins’ goals have led Villa to go unbeaten in their last eight games in the competition and they’re now on the brink of a club record.
Avoiding defeat against Lille will equal their longest unbeaten run ever in Europe, matching their historic title-winning campaign in 1982.
- Lille have never progressed from their four two-legged major European ties when losing in the first leg, with the last such instance being the 2021-22 Champions League last 16 against Chelsea (0-2 away, 1-2 at home).
- Lille and Aston Villa have met three times in European competitions, with each team winning once (D1).
Lille vs Aston Villa: Team news
Former Manchester United youngster Angel Gomes made a comeback from injury in the first leg and could start the second.
He’s now back to fitness unlike Andrej Ilic, Samuel Umtiti and Rafael Fernandes who will all remain sidelined with injuries.
As for Villa, Nicolo Zaniolo seemingly picked up a knock against Arsenal at the weekend but it is not expected to keep him out.
If he does miss out, he will join Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings in the treatment room.
Matty Cash, John McGinn and Moussa Diaby are all one booking away from a suspension.
- Aston Villa have failed to win any of their three away games against French sides in European competition (D2 L1), with this their first such match since a 1-1 draw at Lille in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
- Lille have lost their last two home games against English sides in all competitions, with both of these coming against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League (2019 and 2022). Their only previous home game against Aston Villa was a 1-1 draw in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Lille vs Aston Villa: What has been said?
Emery knows the threat of being the away side in the second leg but wants Villa to have worked hard to find a way to win in France.
Speaking after the first leg, he said: “The result was very tight and it was a tight match, very difficult.
“We prepared the match understanding and respecting them, and we won. We have to be, more or less, happy and respect them even more than we were.
“They will be strong in their stadium and now we have to try to play 90 minutes thinking how we can analyse the match deeply and better playing there.
“We have to try to get a good result there.”
- John McGinn has had a hand in both Aston Villa’s goals in the first leg against Lille (1 goal, 1 assist). He has the most goal contributions among all Aston Villa players in the UEFA Europa Conference League this season (6 – 3 goals, 3 assists).
- Lille’s Jonathan David has scored 2.5 goals fewer than expected in the UEFA Europa Conference League this season (3 goals, 5.5 xG), the highest negative difference of any player in the competition. He is also the player who missed the most big chances in the Conference League this term (7/10).
Lille vs Aston Villa: talkSPORT coverage
This Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg will be played on Thursday, April 18.
Kick-off at Stade Pierre-Mauroy is scheduled for 5:45pm.
talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage of the game from France.
Commentary will come from Alex Crook and former Chelsea defender Scott Minto.