Aston Villa will host AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. After receiving a tough lesson, AZ was left with three points at the midway point. Villa had amassed six points after running amok in Alkmaar last month.
Preview (Aston Villa vs. AZ Alkmaar)
As the third matchday of the Conference League got underway, all four teams in Group E were well-matched in terms of goal differential and points, but with three games remaining, victories by Legia Warsaw and Aston Villa put them atop the standings. While Legia defeated Zrinjski 2-1 in Bosnia, Villa easily defeated AZ. John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Leon Bailey, and Ollie Watkins all found the net until Ibrahim Sadiq subsequently pulled one back. After losing 3-2 to Legia in their first game, Unai Emery’s team was clearly in need of a positive outcome. However, they have since pulled off back-to-back victories that have placed Villa in control of their own fate.
The Birmingham team’s incredible October unbeaten streak. It included 13 goals from five games propelled them into the Premier League’s top four. But on Sunday, the goals finally stopped coming as Villa’s 10-game scoring run came to an end in a 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, dropping them to fifth in the standings. The 1982 European champions secured their eagerly anticipated return to continental play by placing seventh in the previous season.
The Dutch team is three points off of a crucial top-two spot after their most recent home loss to Aston Villa. They can’t afford to lose to the English team once more. However, Villa has a record of 12 straight Premier League home victories. The clubs played last month in the Netherlands, there seemed to be a gap between them. However, AZ has now won eight of its ten Eredivisie games this season. They have averaged more than 2.5 goals per game in domestic competition. They are now in the hunt for first place in the league, trailing only PSV and Twente.
Team News
With two home games coming up, the first against Fulham this coming weekend, Unai Emery is probably going to make a lot of changes to his starting lineup on Thursday night. The Basque manager of Villa is still without the injured players Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia, as well as Jon Duran (toe) and Jacob Ramsey (ankle). However, Alex Moreno is back from a hamstring injury he first sustained at the close of the previous campaign. Lucas Digne would receive much-needed respite if the Spanish full-back is judged healthy enough to start for the first time since he aggravated the injury in September.
At Villa Park, AZ is anticipated to adopt a more circumspect 4-2-3-1 configuration, with Greece international Vangelis Pavlidis leading the line after netting 13 goals in 10 Eredivisie games this season. After playing for Stoke City earlier in his career, captain Bruno Martins Indi is no stranger to England. However, it is unclear if Alexandre Penetra will make a comeback to the visiting team’s back four in Birmingham.
Aston Villa 2 – 1 AZ Alkmaar
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