Seeking to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit, Aston Villa travel to Piraeus to lock horns with Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday night.
The Lions were put to the sword 4-2by the Greek counterparts at Villa Park last week and must win by at least a three-goal margin at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium if they wish to set up a final date with either Club Brugge or Fiorentina.
Match preview
© Reuters
After navigating their way past Maccabi Tel Aviv and Fenerbahce in the previous two knockout rounds, beating the former after extra time and the latter on penalties, Olympiacos were regarded as underdogs heading into their first-ever European semi-final against Aston Villa last week.
However, the Red-Whites produced one of their most impressive and dogged displays of the campaign at Villa Park and were inspired to victory by hat-trick hero Ayoub El Kaabi, who put the Greek outfit two goals ahead inside the opening 29 minutes.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby either side of half time restored parity for Villa, but El Kaabi completed his hat-trick just before the hour mark to put Olympiacos back in front, before Santiago Hezze added a fourth to seal a historic win in Birmingham - just their fourth European away win in their 20th visit to England.
Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar, who led Sevilla to Europa League glory last season, is potentially 90 minutes away from making history with Olympiacos, who are bidding to become just the second Greek team after Panathinaikos in 1970-71 to reach a major UEFA competition final - this year's Conference League showpiece will be held in Athens on May 29.
Olympiacos have not lost any of their last eight games in all competitions and will be confident of finishing the job on Thursday as they have come out on top in four of their last five European home matches, scoring 12 goals in the process.
© Reuters
Competing in their first European competition for 14 years, Aston Villa have "a mountain to climb" in the eyes of midfielder John McGinn if they wish to continue their Conference League journey and reach their first European final since 1982, following their first-leg defeat to Olympiacos.
Not even four-time Europa League winner Unai Emery could mastermind the Lions to victory, and the Spaniard was once again left disappointed with his side's performance just three days later when they were condemned to a 1-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League last weekend.
Although Villa boasted a relatively strong lineup, they looked jaded and surprisingly lacked a cutting edge in the final third, registering just one of their two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes. Emery's men were eventually beaten courtesy of an 87th-minute header from Joao Pedro, who nodded home a rebound after his penalty was saved by Robin Olsen.
Villa missed the chance to strengthen their hold on fourth place in the Premier League table, but they are still in the driving seat to secure Champions League football for next season as they sit seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have a game in hand.
Ahead of Villa's first-ever visit to Greece, Emery has admitted that Olympiacos "are favourites" to advance to the Conference League final, and the prospect of overturning a two-goal deficit could prove challenging for the Lions considering that they have lost both of their previous two European ties in which they suffered a first-leg home defeat.
In addition, Villa - who need to score at least twice on Thursday to level the scores on aggregate - have netted no more than one goal in five of their last six away games across all competitions.
Team News
© Reuters
Olympiacos trio Ruben Vezo, Gelson Martins and Nelson Abbey are all ineligible to play in the Conference League, while Stevan Jovetic remains sidelined due to injury, but Andreas Ndoj and Georgios Masouras are available to return after serving suspensions last week.
Ndoj is in contention to replace David Carmo at centre-back, while Masouras is set to battle with Kostas Fortounis for a start on the right side of attack.
After netting a hat-trick last week, El Kaabi has moved onto 30 goals in all competitions this season and has also drawn level with Eran Zahavi (eight) at the top of the Conference League scoring charts. The Moroccan is expected to continue up front on Thursday and could be supported in attack by Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Daniel Podence.
As for Aston Villa, Boubacar Kamara, Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia (all knee) and Jacob Ramsey (toe) are all nursing season-ending injuries, while Emery is sweating over the fitness of Morgan Rogers who was forced off with a muscle injury against Brighton.
Rogers has emerged as a doubt for Thursday's contest and the same can be said about Youri Tielemans (muscle), Alex Moreno (calf), Nicolo Zaniolo (back) and Emiliano Martinez (thigh), who will all be assessed ahead of kickoff - the latter is available, pending a late fitness test, after serving a suspension last week.
Emery is unlikely to make too many changes to his starting lineup, but the potential absence of Rogers could see either Jhon Duran handed a start alongside Watkins up front, or Matty Cash recalled to operate on the right flank, with Leon Bailey moving over to the left.
Olympiacos possible starting lineup:
Tzolakis; Rodinei, Ndoj, Restos, Ortega; Iborra, Hezze; Masouras, Chiquinho, Podence; El Kaabi
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Cash, Luiz, McGinn, Bailey; Diaby; Watkins
We say: Olympiacos 1-2 Aston Villa (Olympiacos to win 5-4 on aggregate)
Olympiacos were not in domestic action over the weekend, so they have had an extra few days to rest and prepare for Thursday's crunch match, and if they play with the same fearless attacking verve from the first leg, they will fancy their chances of success in the second leg.
A more conservative approach could be deployed by the hosts, though, as they bid to hold onto their two-goal advantage, and while Aston Villa have the potential to turn this tie around, their recent form suggested it could be a tall order, even if they were to win the second leg in Greece.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
