Five Aston Villa players could miss the UEFA Conference League semi-final should Unai Emery’s side progress against Lille on Thursday.
The Villans travel to northern France holding a slender 2-1 lead after last week’s first leg in the West Midlands.
Emery will be boosted by the return of Douglas Luiz after the Brazilian missed Sunday’s 2-0 win over Arsenal at The Emirates.
The 25-year-old is one of five players running the suspension tightrope should the Villans progress on Thursday.
Five Aston Villa players now running suspension tightrope in UEFA Conference League
Per the Europa Conference League rules, players and team officials can be suspended for one match if they pick up three bookings, which did not result in a red card.
Currently, five Aston Villa players are on two yellow cards. John McGinn, who was lauded as “magnificent” in the first leg, is one of the players at risk of suspension.
Moussa Diaby, Youri Tielemans, Matty Cash, and Luiz will walk a tightrope against the Ligue 1 giants.
Ezri Konsa has also picked up two yellow cards, but due to them both coming in the same game, the Englishman will be available as long as he isn’t sent off.
Tough test awaits Aston Villa in France
Villa should be under no illusions regarding the size of the task ahead of them on Thursday evening.
Lille haven’t been beaten at home since September and, as we saw last week, are more than capable of causing problems.
Jonathan David and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson caught the eye for Paulo Fonesca’s side. The attacking duo looked to penetrate Villa’s high line and tested Emi Martinez on multiple occasions.
Emery cannot afford a repeat performance tomorrow evening. The Spaniard has been a staunch believer in his defensive tactics this season, but potentially acting slightly more conservatively is an option.
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