Credit: Imago

Zak Anderton

Mon 10 March 2025 16:41, UK

Unai Emery could look at making two changes to his Aston Villa side to face Club Brugge on Wednesday, with Jacob Ramsey potentially set to miss out.

The Villans will be hoping for a repeat of the result from last week when they triumphed 3-1 over Club Brugge in Belgium.

To make things even better, Villa are also coming off the back of a 1-0 win over Brentford in the Premier League.

Emery will be hoping for more of the same in midweek as Villa aim to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Ramsey dropped for Aston Villa v Club Brugge

Due to the injury Emi Martinez has sustained, Robin Olsen may well be the man between the sticks after the three saves he made against Brentford last time out.

The back four may be slightly different from their game against the Bees, with Matty Cash coming in for Tyrone Mings after he only completed 16 per cent of the long balls he attempted.

In at centre-back will likely be Ezri Konsa and Axel Disasi, with the latter of the two maintaining a pass accuracy of 73 per cent in his last game.

Lucas Digne will be in his usual role of left-back after he won 66 per cent of the ground duels he attempted on Saturday.

In holding midfield will be the dynamic duo of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, with the latter of the two starring for Emery last time out after he made two key passes and had a shot on target.

Morgan Rogers will be the man in the number 10 role, with Marcos Asensio likely to come on in the latter stages if Villa need a bit of an attacking boost.

Keeping his place in the starting XI at right-wing will be Leon Bailey. While he hasn’t been in the best run of form recently, the fact he maintained a pass accuracy of 75 per cent could keep him in the side.

Left-wing is where Villa’s second change is likely to come, with Marcus Rashford replacing Jacob Ramsey in the first-team .

Ramsey played well against the Bees on Saturday, but with the Villans two goals ahead on aggregate, and the fact he won zero per cent of his duels, Emery could choose to axe him.

Last but not least, leading the line will be Ollie Watkins. The striker was in fine form as he scored the only goal of the game and completed 100 per cent of the long balls he attempted last time out.

Aston Villa face massive Club Brugge test

There have been times in the 2024/25 season when the Villans’ performances have left a lot to be desired.

However, in the Champions League, things have been somewhat different, with Villa beating the likes of Bayern Munich in the league stage.

There’s no denying that Villa’s main goal at the start of the season was to earn qualification to the Champions League once again.

At the moment, they’re four points adrift of the top four spots. If they beat Club Brugge, they will be a step closer to qualifying again next season via a different route – winning the whole thing this season.

Only time will tell what the future holds, but for now, Emery needs to ensure his men stay focused on the task at hand and beat the Belgian outfit once again.