Matias Fernandez-Pardo: Lille sure to deploy danger man vs Aston Villa – Emery must be wary
Matias Fernandez-Pardo is likely to start for Lille against Aston Villa on Thursday night, having only coming on as a second-half substitute in the first leg.
Aston Villa have set themselves up to be in a strong position to progress into the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday night, as Lille come to town for the second leg.
Unai Emery‘s side took a 1-0 win from the first leg in France last week, but will come into the second leg tie off the back of a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Man United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Lille put their first leg loss behind them when beating Rennes 2-1 away from home in Ligue 1 over the weekend, as Bruno Genesio’s team will be confident of overturning the scoreline at Villa Park.
- Read more: Unai Emery’s managerial record vs Lille to fill Aston Villa with huge second leg confidence
Why Aston Villa must be wary of Matias Fernandez-Pardo threat
Genesio is likely to switch up his starting XI from the team that lost to Villa in the first leg, as they will need to force the issue and take the game to Emery’s side.
In the first leg, Lille went with veteran striker Olivier Giroud as the lone striker, but the 39-year-old struggled to get into the game and was largely ineffective.
Therefore, this time round, Genesio is likely to call upon one of their, and indeed Ligue 1’s, hottest young talents in the form of Fernandez-Pardo.
Still only 21, the versatile Spanish forward came off the bench in the first leg, but was back in the starting lineup for Lille’s game against Rennes last time out, and he bagged a goal and an assist in their 2-1 win.
So, he’s surely a no-brainer inclusion for Lille on Thursday, and that’s bad news for Aston Villa.
As per Sofascore, from 21 Ligue 1 appearances this season, Fernandez-Pardo has created four big chances, won one penalty, completed 83 per cent of his passes and posts a 50 per cent dribble success rate.
He also has won 52 per cent of his ground duels, been caught offside just 0.4 times per game, has an 80 per cent long ball accuracy rate and all five of his goals have been from inside the box respectively.
The youngster – was born in and originally represented Belgium at youth level before switching to Spain – is a real enigmatic type, and is the kind of forward who can burst into life at any moment with a piece of individual brilliance.
Why Fernandez-Pardo is so frustrating for Lille
Fernandez-Pardo is a player that divides Lille fans, pundits and reporters alike, as he certainly has the talent to right to the top of the game, but his performances can be incredibly frustrating to watch at times too.
As per Sofascore, he’s missed nine big chances for Lille in Ligue 1 this season, which when you consider he’s made 21 league appearances, that’s close to being one per-game.
He’s the type who gets supporters off their seats in both admiration and frustration alike, and Villa will need him to put in a latter that elicits the latter on Thursday night.
If not, and Fernandez-Pardo is firing on all cylinders, then it could be a very long night for Villa’s defenders.
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