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Aston Villa to 'flourish' in Europe but could face fresh fixture and squad issues - Ty Bracey
We’re delighted to welcome Aston Villa podcaster Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa are set to “flourish” in Europe this season, but fixture congestion and squad depth may cause issues, according to Ty Bracey.
Following a surprise seventh-place finish under Unai Emery last season, the Villans qualified for European competition for the first time in 13 years.
They’ve prepared well for the upcoming increase in fixtures with the elite-level signings of the European-experienced Moussa Diaby and Pau Torres, while Youri Tielemans joined on a free to add further depth.
However, while Bracey remains confident that Villa will have a good re-entry into European football, he does claim that the club will face fresh problems as a result.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bracey said: “We’ve got a lot of players who have got European experience. Obviously Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby. Leon Bailey is not unknown to European football either.
“I think we’re going to be just fine. I think we will go into it great just as West Ham did. I don’t think there’ll be any problems with European experience.
“We’ve had a pre-season where we’ve gone to Spain, then played against Lazio and got good practice against non-English sides. It’s going to be like that where we play on a Saturday at Villa Park and then travel to Europe.
“But I think we will flourish, I really do. Let’s hope we can get a good spell in European football.
“However, fixture congestion is a real thing. Teams playing European football are impacted by it. We don’t have a huge squad. We’re not bare-bones but we don’t have a huge squad.
“But I think we’ll be fine.”
In other Aston Villa news, Bracey has made a huge claim about ‘massive’ John McGinn’s Villa season.