Aston Villa return to action in the Europa Conference League tomorrow evening, with one player having the ability to snub out the threat of Olympiacos.
All eyes will be on Villa Park tomorrow night as Aston Villa host the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos.
The Villans progressed into the final four after a dramatic win on penalties against LOSC Lille with the second leg in France providing an array of emotions.
Unai Emery will hope that his side can take a comprehensive lead with them to Greece, with a challenge to overcome at Villa Park to record a win and put one foot in the final.
Aston Villa have been warned of three Olympiacos ‘dangermen’ ahead of Thursday night’s fixture however, it’s now been explained that one Villan has the keys to lock away the threat of the visitors.
The key role that Douglas Luiz will have against Olympiacos
After outlining the threat that the Greek giants could pose to Villa, journalist and Greek football expert Stephen Kountourou, told the Claret and Blue podcast about the members of Emery’s squad who could be fundamental to causing problems for the visitors.
At first, Kountourou mentioned Ollie Watkins for reasons that don’t need an explanation and then turned his attention to Douglas Luiz, with the Brazilian having the power to extinguish Olympiacos’ flame in midfield.
“If Aston Villa can dominate the midfield then that’s the way to carve out Olympiacos in that area of the pitch, so Douglas Luiz will be important in the game as well [as Watkins].”
The Greek side have a host of talent in the central area, giving Luiz a task to limit play transitioning through the midfield, as well as showing his own skillset against a tough opposition, something he hasn’t done recently.
Douglas Luiz has the opportunity to impress Unai Emery against Olympiacos
It’s been an unusual few weeks for Luiz, who has suffered a dip in form, seeing his performances go under the radar which is particularly uncharacteristic of Villa’s dominant number six.
The Brazilian has certainly struggled without his partner in midfield, as the Villans bid farewell to Boubacar Kamara for the season as he sustained an ACL injury back in February.
After his display against Chelsea, which was heavily criticised by fans, the £15m jewel will hope to return to his usual standard on Thursday night, in a game where him stepping up could be fundamental to Villa’s European ambitions.
Everyone is aware of what Luiz can do at his best, whether it be his combative edge or his ability to play intricate passes, score goals or dictate the tempo, although, they’re areas that the Villans haven’t seen recently.
Fixtures don’t come much bigger than a European semi-final, giving the 25-year-old the tools to make his current form a thing of the past and spur his team on to place one foot in the final.
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