Unai Emery risks ‘annoying’ Aston Villa stars with Douglas Luiz decision for showdown v Lille
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery risks “annoying” members of his squad by restoring Douglas Luiz to the starting line-up against Lille, according to Alan Hutton.
The Villans travel to France on Thursday (18 April) with a 2-1 lead from the first leg at Villa Park thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn, knowing a win will see them book their place in the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
Emery’s side head into the clash off of the back of an excellent 2-0 Premier League win away to Arsenal, but Luiz was not part of the squad that pulled off the major upset in North London, having missed the match through suspension.
While Hutton believes players could be frustrated if they’re axed in favour of the Brazilian midfielder, he admits that he expects Emery to start the 25-year-old from the off as he looks to progress in the competition.
“Nicolo Zaniolo came in and did well, but I think he comes back in,” Hutton told Villa News.
“Who he comes back in for I’m not 100 per cent sure, but I think he plays. Because he’s missing the Bournemouth game as well, there’s an opportunity to use him and rest other players instead.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, I was impressed with Lille when they came to Villa Park. The first 10, 15 minutes I thought this is going to be harder than I thought because they were really comfortable on the ball.
“Going over there it’s going to be lively, their fans were loud so in a full stadium it will be a difficult atmosphere and a difficult game, so Villa are going to have to put on just as good a display as they did against Arsenal.
“That being said, for the starting players, you want to play all the time so if you have played against Arsenal and the next game you’re out, it can be annoying and difficult to take as a footballer, but I still think Luiz comes back in.”
Will Douglas Luiz start for Aston Villa and Unai Emery in Europa Conference League clash with Lille?
As Hutton suggested, Luiz has been one of Emery and Villa’s best players so far this season and it seems likely the Brazilian will garner plenty of transfer interest once again this summer as big clubs continue to keep tabs at Villa Park.
When the 25-year-old is fit and available, he simply has to start and Thursday night’s clash will be no different, even after a huge win at the Emirates.
Whether the entire squad will be happy with that decision is by the by, Emery and Villa have to do everything they can to book their place in the semi-finals. Hopefully, the win over the Gunners won’t just be a one-off and the Villans will pick up a similar result against their Ligue 1 opposition.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton has tipped Nicolo Zaniolo to “assess his options” ahead of a permanent transfer this summer
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.