Lille manager Paulo Fonseca has outlined how the host can overcome Aston Villa to progress to the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
Every Villa fan knows what is going down on Thursday night. Unai Emery’s side faces Lille in the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final, knowing that a draw on the night will send them through.
Villa picked up a 2-1 win at Villa Park in the reverse leg despite Lille causing the hosts a few scares.
However, the Birmingham outfit now faces a bigger challenge. Lille have had a week’s rest compared to Villa, with top-scorer Jonathan David already sending a warning to Emery’s side.
Now, Lille manager Paulo Fonseca has outlined how he plans to overcome the English team to progress to overcome their 2-1 advantage.
Read more: How to watch Lille vs Aston Villa on UK TV.
Early goal ‘the key’ to Europe Conference League progression
Villa are set to take 2,599 fans to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. However, this is nothing compared to the home faithful. Lille’s stadium hosts 50,000 spectators, with the crowd set to be booming for the European clash.
Emery’s side will no doubt have to settle the crowd’s excitement for the game with the visitors only having a one-goal lead.
Lille manager, Fonseca has recognised this, insisting that they have to remain defensively strong while aiming to score “quickly”.
“It’s difficult to find weaknesses in a team like Aston Villa,” he said in his pre-match presser. “We need to understand how they play, and the match against Arsenal was a wonderful example. They defend well to counter-attack. They have no problem defending all the time, they wait for the right moment.”
He continued: “We will have to score quickly but also not concede goals. It is a dangerous match against a very strong team. We will have to play a balanced match, even if we will also have to take risks. There will be no room for mistakes. We must first defend well before attacking.”
Aston Villa must manage the crowd against Lille
An early goal is vital for Villa. With Lille having far more energy than their opponents extra-time would play against the visitors.
Therefore, if the Birmingham outfit wants to progress, they must do it in the first 90 minutes.
The home crowd will be up for the tie with the French side also believing that they could end the competition by the season’s end.
Any way to kill off the home atmosphere will be to Villa’s advantage and should see them through in the competition.
Emery never disappoints tactically and many fans will be confident that he has a plan for the tie.
The post 'It's difficult to find a weakness...': Lille manager outlines plan on how to overcome Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League appeared first on Aston Villa News.
