Unai Emery handed boost at Aston Villa as Youri Tielemans update emerges ahead of Olympiacos clash
Aston Villa and Unai Emery will be desperate to get back to winning ways and book their place in the Europa Conference League final when they face Olympiacos.
The Villans travel to Greece on Thursday (9 May) and trail by two goals following the 4-2 defeat in the first leg at Villa Park. While it won’t be easy to overturn that deficit, they have shown already this season that they can beat anyone they face.
While Sunday’s (5 May) Premier League defeat at the hands of Brighton saw Morgan Rogers’ season potentially come to an end through injury, Emery may be handed a boost ahead of Thursday as an update emerged over Youri Tielemans.
According to injury expert Ben Dinnery (6 May), the Belgian midfielder could return to the matchday squad for the clash in Greece this week having missed Villa’s last two matches through injury.
Will Youri Tielemans play against Olympiacos?
Tielemans had a slow start to life with Villa, but in recent weeks he has blossomed into one of the most important parts of Emery’s side with his consistent performances in the heart of midfield alongside John McGinn and Douglas Luiz.
The 26-year-old’s last full game in a Villans shirt was the 3-1 win over Bournemouth at Villa Park. In that contest, Tielemans completed 92 per cent of his 62 attempted passes, 13 of which found a teammate in the final third, according to Fotmob.
What was so impressive about this showing however was the fact that the Belgian international wasn’t afraid to look for the difficult option. Over the course of the 90 minutes, he completed 80 per cent of his long-range efforts as well.
Most supporters and pundits praise the former Leicester star for his work on the ball, but he was equally effective out of possession. Against Bournemouth, the midfielder won 83 per cent of his six ground duels and all bar one of his aerial battles.
No player on either side won more duels in the match and despite throwing himself into the midfield battle, the 26-year-old didn’t commit a single tackle and even managed to win Emery’s side two free-kicks.
In Villa’s crucial Premier League win over Arsenal at the Emirates, Tielemans entered 11 duels, ten of which were on the ground. Despite facing up against the likes of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, the Belgian won 60 per cent of his battles.
His main quality comes when he has the ball at his feet, however. When compared to other midfielders in the Premier League this season, he sits in the top three per cent of players for assists per 90 minutes, according to Fbref.
This is partly because he always looks to play the ball forward whenever possible. Tielemans sits in the 87th percentile of his positional peers in the division for progressive passes made per game, with an average of 7.28.
Ollie Watkins in particular really thrives off of the 26-year-old’s delivery as he tends to look to play through balls in behind a backline, in fact, only two per cent of the league’s midfielders play more threaded passes a game than the Belgian.
If Villa want to overturn their deficit against Olympiacos, Emery simply has to risk starting Tielemans on Thursday. His work both in and out of possession will massively boost the Villans’ chances of booking their place in a European final.
In other Aston Villa news, the terms required to sign Leeds star Crysencio Summerville have been mooted at Villa Park
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