Empty home seats despite kick-off looming…
Must admit I’m surprised to see so many empty seats 10 minutes before kick-off. The capacity here is 50,000 and the club were expecting about 47,500 (including 2,600 from Villa).
Not too much interest from the prawn sandwich seats on the middle tier so far…
McGinn finds his shooting boots
‘Keep a close eye on set-pieces’
Keep a close eye on set pieces tonight. Lille boss Paulo Fonseca was unhappy with Villa markers’ blocking tactics in the first leg and sent a clear message to the officials pre-match.
Villa took a dim view of that, it’s fair to say. There could be fireworks on the touchline as well as the pitch, after Emery’s assistant Pako Ayestaran was sent off in the first leg.
European disasters for Premier League sides
David and Yoro among the ones to watch
A few to look out for in the Lille side. Jonathan David has been a consistent scorer in Ligue 1 and will surely move this summer – more from Mail Sport here.
Centre-back Leny Yoro struggled against Ollie Watkins but is highly regarded, and I loved the look of Icelandic playmaker Hakon Haraldsson.
Meanwhile, Emi Martinez has just come out for the warm up to an absolute volley from the home end. Spicy evening ahead.
The atmosphere is building in Lille…
‘Big call to leave Leon Bailey on the bench’
It’ll be fascinating to see Emery’s plan tonight. Big call to leave Bailey on the bench, even though Villa are protecting a lead – he’s one of two reliable matchwinners in this side.
Huge show of faith in Zaniolo who will almost certainly leave Villa in the summer when his loan spell ends
Can Watkins fire Villa to glory?
Lille vs Aston Villa: Line-ups
A strong week for Unai Emery’s side
History awaits…
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