Aston Villa travel to Greece on Thursday for the second-leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final with Olympiacos.
Unai Emery‘s side suffered a shock 4-2 defeat in the home leg at Villa Park last week and followed that up with a lethargic performance in the 1-0 loss to Brighton on Sunday.
Tiredness looks to be creeping into to the Villa squad at a crucial part of the season and some players appear to be suffering more than others with the intense schedule.
Emery must devise a masterplan to overturn the two goal deficit from the home tie, however this is not beyond the realms of possibility given the talent he has at his disposal.
Leon Bailey needs a rest v Olympiacos
Whilst no Villa player will want to miss out on such a huge game, Emery may have to rotate his side slightly after the showing at Brighton.
The game represents the opportunity for Villa to get to a first European final since 1982, but they will have to be much better than they were in the home leg if they are to do so.
Some fresh impetus may be required and Leon Bailey could be one of the unlucky few to drop out of the side.
The Jamaica international was uncharacteristically poor against Brighton and lost possession 15 times according to Sofascore.
It was a surprise to everyone watching that Emery left Bailey on the pitch for 90 minutes and Aston Villa journalist Jacob Tanswell posted on ‘X’ that the 26-year-old appeared ‘leggy’ and ‘knackered’.
Villa will need their attackers to be firing on all cylinders and, if Bailey is unable to do that, then they have a player ready to step in.
Jhon Duran should replace Bailey against Olympiacos
That player is 20-year-old Jhon Duran.
The Colombian striker is a powerful, aggressive striker who offers something completely different to the technical ability of Bailey but could be just as effective.
Emery would likely have to tweak his tactics somewhat to accommodate the centre-forward but, with Villa needing at least two goals, they have to go for it.
Duran has scored six goals in all competitions this season according to Transfermarkt and was a real handful in his cameo off the bench in the first-leg, winning the penalty that Douglas Luiz put wide late on.
His presence may also take some of the Olympiacos defenders’ attention off of Ollie Watkins and allow the club’s top goalscorer to be more involved in the game than he has been in the last two fixtures.
Emery knows he has a player on his hands who could develop into a top striker.
Speaking after Duran’s goal against Crystal Palace in September, Unai Emery said: “Scoring like he did on Saturday, it is coming quick. But the most important thing is his quality, his capacity, his skill, his big potential.”
With goals needed and tired legs, the fresh Duran could be just what Villa need.
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