Aston Villa look to bounce back from defeat in the Premier League as they host AZ Alkmaar in Group E of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Here’s the latest heading into tomorrow night’s crucial match-day four fixture at Villa Park…
Words by: Liam Davies
THE BUILD UP
It is perfectly poised in Group E after three games played, with Legia Warsaw topping the table on six points, ahead of Unai Emery’s Villa due to the superior head-to-head record. HΕ K Zrinjski Mostar sit third, followed by AZ who currently occupy bottom spot; the Eredivisie outfit will be looking to earn a big three points on the road tomorrow night.
However, Pascal Jansen’s side will have to overcome an Aston Villa side who are formidable on home turf at the moment. Unai Emery has made Villa Park a fortress in recent months and the Spaniard’s side currently find themselves on a 12-game winning run at home in the Premier League.
With that being said, the away form is not as impressive and the Villans enter this mid-week fixture on the back of a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Emery’s team came into the game against the Tricky Trees in superb form, but struggled to ever get going on Trentside and goals from Ola Aina and Orel Mangala helped the hosts to a valuable three points.
The 1982 European Cup winners will be looking to bounce back and will be confident of getting a result having beaten their Dutch opposition last time out in the Conference League.
It was a somewhat must-win fixture for the Villans at the AFAS Stadion after the opening match-day defeat in Warsaw and the 1-0 edging over Zrinjski Mostar in the second Conference League outing. Emery’s side ran riot in Alkmaar however, finding themselves 4-0 up after an hour, thanks to goals from Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn.
Ibrahim Sadiq pulled a goal back for De Kaasboeren in the 65th minute, but it was to be a comfortable evening on the road for the claret and blue outfit.
Since their first home defeat of the campaign, Alkmaar have seen a game abandoned and drawn on the road. The contest between Jansen’s side and NEC Nijmegen was abruptly ended in stoppage time after NEC’s Bas Dost collapsed off the ball, requiring medical assistance. The veteran Dutch striker gained consciousness and was eventually carried off the field on a stretcher, but the referee called an end to the game and both sides now await for the fixture to be rescheduled.
Last weekend saw Alkmaar concede late to draw away at Excelsior in the Eredivisie. It was a tight affair in Rotterdam but the visitors found a breakthrough in the 72nd minute when winger Mayckel Lahdo converted from a corner. The Kralingers Roodzwarten would reply late on however, with midfielder Cisse Sandra bagging his first of the season. This result leaves Alkmaar in second ahead of rivals Feyenoord and FC Twente and six points behind PSV but with a game in hand on the league-leaders.
Can Aston Villa complete a Group E double over their Dutch counterparts and consolidate their position within the top two or will AZ pull off a shock result at Villa Park and leave it with all to play for in the remaining two matches?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Spanish left-back Γlex Moreno returned to the Aston Villa match-day squad for last weekend’s visit of Nottingham Forest, having recovered from a hamstring injury that has kept the number 15 out since May. The 30-year-old defender could earn his first minutes of the season tonight as the former Real Betis man looks to integrate his way back into the starting line-up.
Providing an update on the Spaniard’s availability, head coach Unai Emery said: βAlex Moreno is close to start playing minutes again because heβs feeling very well.”
Matty Cash is fit and can play tomorrow, despite being withdrawn from Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. The 26-year-old defender was taken off in the 59th minute and replaced by midfielder Youri Tielemans but has recovered in time for tomorrow evening.
On the Polish full-back’s condition, Emery said: βHe (Matty Cash) is ready. He had a small problem but heβs available.”
Jhon DurΓ‘n is another man who has passed a late fitness test ahead of tomorrow’s crucial game in the Conference League, despite the Colombian missing the previous three games in all competitions due to a toe infection.
Elsewhere, Tyrone Mings (knee), Emi BuendΓa (knee) and Jacob Ramsey (toe) are all missing through injury. Both Mings and BuendΓa remain out on a long-term basis but Ramsey is set to return after the upcoming international break, Unai Emery has confirmed.
On Ramsey’s due comeback, the Basque boss said: βJacob Ramsey, after the next international break I think heβs going to be available to start training with the players and to be close to being in the squad for the matches.β
AZ ALKMAAR
AZ Alkmaar will be without winger Mayckel Lahdo for tomorrow’s visit of Aston Villa, having missed the previous encounter at the AFAS Stadion against the claret and blue outfit. The Swedish winger is facing a suspension following a red card received against Legia Warsaw on match-day two of the Conference League.
Despite Alkmaar’s best efforts to appeal the two-game ban, UEFA felt it was a reasonable amount of time to keep the 20-year-old sidelined and the former Hammarby Fotball forward will miss the return clash with Unai Emery’s side.
In a statement on the club’s official website, Alkmaar announced: “UEFA maintains Mayckel Lahdo’s suspension for two games.
Elsewhere, AZ are expected to be without defender Mees de Wit who has been out with a foot injury since the end of August and young midfielder Lewis Schouten who last featured for the club’s under 19 side at the beginning of October. Goalkeeper Sem Westerveld is also unavailable.
Aside from these absentees however, Pascal Jansen has a fully fit side to take with him to England tomorrow evening, with centre-half Bruno Martins Indi, former-Southampton midfielder Jordy Clasie, play-maker Ruben von Bommel and top-scorer Vangelis Pavlidis all expected to begin the game at Villa Park.
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A BIT ON ALKMAAR…
Pascal Jansen and his side have enjoyed a positive start to the 2023/24 Eredivise term, finding themselves second in the Dutch top flight after ten games played. Along the way, last season’s Conference League semi-finalists have defeated the likes of Ajax, Sparta Rotterdam and Go Ahead Eagles and are yet to be on the losing side domestically.
Although, it hasn’t be all sunshine and rainbows for De Kaasboeren as AZ have struggled in Group E of the UEFA Europa Conference League; Jansen’s team are bottom of the table having accumulated just three points from the opening three games.
The 2008/09 Eredivisie winners lost away to Zrinjski Mostar to kick-off their 2023/24 European group campaign, despite leading 3-0 at the break. The Bosnian side pulled off what has been regarded as their ‘greatest victory in history’ with half-time substitute Zvonimir KoΕΎulj inspiring the 45 minute comeback. AZ bounced back on match-day two, beating Polish side Legia Warsaw by a goal to nil at home, but then suffered the heavy loss to their Premier League counterparts last time out.
On the back of the 4-1 defeat, Pascal Jansen believes his side were the architects of their own downfall on the night. Speaking to the media after the previous defeat against Aston Villa, head coach Jansen said: “Playing against a side like Aston Villa is a challenge for anybody, they’re doing very well in the Premier League at the moment and they deserve it.
The 50-year-old head coach will expect an even more difficult game tomorrow, given the form of the Birmingham-based outfit on home soil and knowing the opposition have the support of around 40,000 inside Villa Park.
Unai Emery spoke on AZ ahead of tomorrow’s big game in Group E. On Pascal Jansen’s team, he said: βI respect a lot AZ Alkmaar and they are a winning team. They are winning a lot of matches in their league and they were successful last year in the Conference League. They lost against West Ham in the semi-finals, and I respect them a lot. They have experiences in Europe and they have players with international experiences.
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MY PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at my predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture at Villa Park…
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share now and let’s discuss?
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