Unai Emery could be tempted to rotate his Aston Villa side against Olympiacos on Thursday night, with one rarely-seen gem having the potential to solve a key weakness.
Aston Villa will want to restore their high-performance levels on Thursday, as the Villans host Olympiacos in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final.
Unai Emery’s side will be eager to put on a show for their supporters at Villa Park, with a victory necessary in preparation for the away leg next week in Greece.
As seen last time out in the Conference League against LOSC Lille, Villa will want to carry more than a one-goal advantage with them to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium to avoid a dramatic second leg, with the final now in touching distance.
While securing European silverware is a target for Emery and his spirited side, the Midlands club will also have focus on the Premier League, with a task still in hand to confirm Champions League football next season.
For that reason, the boss could be tempted to make a change to his squad that faces Olympiacos, with one recently exposed weakness in mind.
Unai Emery could be tempted to start Tim Iroegbunam against Olympiacos
With Youri Tielemans injured for the clash against the Greek giants, Emery will have a decision to make over who starts in the central areas.
Against Chelsea, the Spaniard replaced the 26-year-old with Moussa Diaby, switching the role in midfield to see John McGinn drop back to support Douglas Luiz.
This didn’t work, as we will get into, which could prompt the boss to integrate Tim Iroegbunam to add defensive stability.
The 20-year-old is unseasoned in claret and blue however, he has featured in the Europa Conference League this season, showing his worth as a player capable of sitting in front of the defence as a layer of protection in midfield.
For his combative edge alone, the youngster could have an important role to play against Olympiacos, with his introduction potentially having a high reward for the manager if he were to take the gamble.
The problem that Unai Emery must see to after Aston Villa’s draw with Chelsea
Against Chelsea, the midfield pairing of McGinn and Luiz was non-existent after Tielemans’ exit, a bizarre situation for the Villans who were unable to rely on two of their most consistent players.
In reaction to the 2-2 draw, that saw Villa lose grip of a 2-0 lead, journalist Dan Bardell described the structure of the midfield as ‘strange’, something that Emery could look to fix by introducing Iroegbunam.
The Bodymoor Heath talent could hold the keys to unlock the past form of Luiz, who has been restricted since losing his midfield partner Boubacar Kamara to injury.
Now, the Brazilian could be handed freedom to roam and rediscover his form by the introduction of Iroegbunam, who has the fundamentals required to act as the anchor to allow Luiz to roam.
It will be interesting to discover if Emery decides to change his midfield personnel to cover for the absence of Tielemans, in what could be a stroke of genius by the boss.
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