Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Fri 8 May 2026 12:10, UK

Aston Villa will be wondering what all the panic was about heading into the weekend as they prepare to take on Burnley.

Unai Emery’s side brought a chaotic few weeks to an end on Thursday, with a 4-0 home win against Nottingham Forest sealing their spot in the Europa League final.

This came after a run of three successive defeats across all competitions, with the first leg loss against the Garibaldi sandwiched by defeats at the hands of Fulham and Tottenham.

Now with their spot in the final secured, and the wind back in their tails, they make the trip to a Burnley side condemned to the Championship once again.

With three to go, Villa are within touching distance of a return to the Champions League, and must kickstart their domestic momentum ahead of the final weeks.

Slight rotation for Unai Emery after successful European night

Following Sunday’s defeat to Tottenham, Emery drew strong criticism from those associated with West Ham for his team selection.

With it clear that the focus was on the coming European tie, the Villans would go out with a whimper against a rather convincing Spurs.

Though the gamble would pay off, with Emery’s side taking complete control of the second leg at Villa Park – winning 4-0 on the night to counter the 1-0 loss suffered at the City Ground.

Now looking to strike a happy balance between the two competitions, such rotation will not be in order, as the Midlanders aim to secure Champions League football.

Douglas Luiz did not feature until injury time against Forest, despite the absence of Amadou Onana in the middle of the park.

As a result, the Brazilian could be in line for a start on Sunday, coming in for Victor Lindelof, who operated in an unfamiliar midfield role.

Meanwhile, Ian Maatsen could come back in for Lucas Digne, with the pair often rotated throughout the campaign – rounding off two changes for Villa.

On the team news front, Emery will be awaiting the return of the aforementioned Onana, in the hope that the Belgian is fit again for the Europa League final.

Fellow midfielder Boubacar Kamara remains sidelined for the season, with the issues for the pair strengthening the load on the current midfield crop heading into the closing weeks.

Unai Emery will look for similar impact out wide

In the second leg against Forest, both Emi Buendia and John McGinn were fantastic, with the latter scoring a brace while Buendia was, quite frankly, everywhere.

Racking up a goal and an assist, Buendia created four chances – the most of anyone on the pitch.

He took the most touches in the opposition box with nine, and was dispossessed just once.

In a period in which Morgan Rogers continues to struggle for Villa, the impact of both Buendia and McGinn will prove vital.

With one not in form, the others need to show up, and they most certainly did that on Thursday, with McGinn’s excellent efforts in front of goal seeing him score twice from an xG of 0.29.

Looking to regain momentum in the league, Emery looks to have found two who he can rely on, while the pair can hopefully free up Rogers, who has failed to hit the same heights of his excellent festive period.