Aston Villa early team news v Club Brugge: Emery shares Emi Martinez update
Emi Martinez missed Aston Villa’s 1-0 Premier League win over Brentford on Saturday.
The Villans’ attention turns to the Champions League with a crucial round of 16 second-leg clash with Club Brugge at Villa Park (12 March).
Villa take a 3-1 advantage from the first leg into the contest and Unai Emery has delivered his early team news ahead of the Belgians coming to town, with Martinez in contention.
Martinez set to be fit for Brugge showdown
Robin Olsen performed admirably in Martinez’s absence but having arguably the best goalkeeper in world football back is a huge boost for the B6 outfit.
Emery confirmed that both the Argentine and Marco Asensio are in the squad for the clash with the Belgians and that Amadou Onana is nearing a return.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference (11 March), he said: “They [Martinez and Asensio] are both in the squad. Onana as well is coming back in the squad.”
However, he ruled out Ross Barkley through injury, meanwhile, Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen are not registered for the competition.
Aston Villa need to win
Given that Villa sit eighth in the Premier League with one more match played than their rivals for a top-four place, Champions League qualification next season through their league position seems unlikely.
In fact, the Opta Analyst supercomputer gives the Villans just a 2.75 per cent chance of doing so after the win over the Bees.
| Premier League | Played | GD | Points |
| 4. Chelsea | 28 | +17 | 49 |
| 5. Man City | 28 | +15 | 47 |
| 6. Newcastle | 28 | +9 | 47 |
| 7. Brighton | 28 | +6 | 46 |
| 8. Aston Villa | 29 | -4 | 45 |
Their only chance of a second successive season in Europe’s premier competition may be to win this year’s edition, which will be a mammoth task given that Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain await in the next round and they could face Real Madrid or Arsenal in the semi-finals if they progress.
However, with Martinez back between the sticks, Emery’s side have a chance against anyone as he has shown time and time again that he can produce heroics against anyone and there is a reason why he won two consecutive Yashin Trophies.
The Spaniard needs the rest of his squad to step up and show they can do the same, otherwise, their dreams of another campaign in the competition will be dead in the water.
The return of Onana should give Villa a welcome boost, given the steel and tenacity that he brings to the engine room, and Asensio keeps growing in influence.