Aston Villa handed Europa Conference League boost after update over Lille star Edon Zhegrova
Aston Villa are 90 minutes away from a European semifinal and Unai Emery will know a draw or win will see his side progress past Lille.
The Villans weren’t at their best in the first leg of the clash but managed to find an all-important lead to take to France ahead of Thursday’s (18 April) showdown thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn.
Emery will be hoping that his side are able to build off of their impressive win over Arsenal in the Premier League last time out and the Villa boss may have been handed the advantage after Lille were handed a new injury blow.
According to John Towley (17 April), Paulo Fonseca has confirmed that Edon Zhegrova will be ruled out for Thursday night’s showdown with an ankle injury having started the meeting with Emery’s side at Villa Park.
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Zhegrova was a livewire for Lille in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal. Starting on the right wing, the 25-year-old completed 90 per cent of his 10 attempted passes, one of which found a teammate in the final third, according to Fotmob.
The Kosovo international may have only played for 60 minutes, but he managed to have two shots on Emi Martinez’s goal, producing an xG of 0.36 and missing one big chance. His finishing left a lot to be desired, but he carried a threat.
In Lille’s last league match, a 3-1 win over Marseille, Zhegrova completed 84 per cent of his 19 attempted passes and created two goal-scoring chances for his teammates.
On top of that, the 25-year-old hit the woodwork himself, with an excellent left-footed effort from outside the penalty area. On the ball, the Lille star was electric, completing more dribbles than any other player whilst winning four fouls in the process.
When compared to other wingers in the Europa Conference League this season, Zhegrova places in the top four per cent for progressive carries per 90 minutes, with a remarkable average of 6.07, according to Fbref.
The Kosovo international isn’t afraid to test keepers either and places in the 94th percentile of his positional peers for shots taken per 90 minutes. Had he been fit to start he would have certainly tested Martinez.
Defensively, the winger was no slouch either, winning seven of his 11 duels on the ground, 100 per cent of his tackles and 100 per cent of aerial battles without committing a single foul in the process.
Will Villa beat Lille and book their place in the Europa Conference League semi-final?
While Villa have plenty of injury issues to deal with themselves, Zhegrova’s absence will certainly boost Emery and his side’s hopes of progressing in the Conference League this term as he is a key part of Lille’s plan.
Hopefully, the Villans will be able to take advantage of this latest blow and maintain their lead over the 90 minutes in France. If Villa were capable of beating Arsenal at the Emirates, they should be confident of coming out on top against Lille as well.
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