Unai Emery’s plotting changes for last Villa group clash
Unai Emery is ready to ring the changes when Villa complete their Europa Conference League group stage campaign at Zrinjski Mostar tonight.
Villa need just a point in Bosnia to guarantee topping Group E and progressing straight through to the competition’s last-16, though a defeat would leave the door open for Legia Warsaw to overtake them. The Polish club host AZ Alkmaar in their final group fixture.
Emery has tinkered with his line-up throughout the competition and will continue the policy, though both Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne could start as they are suspended for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Brentford.
Jacob Ramsey should make his first start of the season, while Alex Moreno should also feature at some point as he is Digne’s most likely weekend replacement.
Leander Dendoncker and Jhon Duran are among those also pushing for rare starts, while record signing Moussa Diaby should feature in the XI, having made do with substitute appearances in the last three Premier League matches.
“We did the first objective to be in, to qualify for the next round,” said Emery. “We want to finish top of the group but we want to try and use different players. We will play different players but I’m not sure how many.
“We also have two players out for Sunday with suspension – Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne. That’s another reason to try and introduce other players.”
