Aston Villa’s European fate will be realised on Thursday evening when Unai Emery’s side must ensure one critical thing if they are to complete a comeback against Olympiacos.
Losing 4-2 at Villa Park against Olympiacos in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final was not in Unai Emery’s plans.
Aston Villa must now travel to Greece with the intention of beating Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side by three goals to win the tie in 90 minutes.
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It’s a tremendous ask for the Villans, who were exposed at Villa Park in the first leg, falling short to an Ayoub El Kaabi hattrick and a goal courtesy of Santiago Hezze to take the tie out of close reach.
Stranger things have happened in football than overcoming a two-goal deficit in a European semi-final however, Emery’s side must do something they’ve rarely done this campaign to surely stand a chance on Thursday night.
Aston Villa must keep a clean sheet against Olympiacos
Not only must Villa score three to overturn their 4-2 defeat in the first leg, but Emery’s side must also ensure that they are the only side to score in the second leg.
Speaking on the 1874 podcast, journalist Gregg Evans explained his doubts over Villa’s ability to keep a clean sheet, and what he expects the Villans must do to progress to the final.
“I think Villa have certainly got it in them to go and get two early goals but I just feel like they’re always going to concede over there, and that might just be the problem.
“I don’t see them going there and keeping a clean sheet, so to do that, they’ll have to get three goals at least, which is going to be tough.”
The Athletic journalist’s concerns are shared by many, as Villa’s numbers this season only reinforce how fragile Emery’s side have been at the back, particularly away from home.
Aston Villa struggle at keeping clean sheets away from home
This season, Villa have kept eight clean sheets in the Premier League in 36 games, making for concerning reading, particularly when considering that just four of them came away from home.
A similar weakness is evident in the Europa Conference League, where Villa have kept a clean sheet on just two occasions in six away games in the competition, averaging 1.17 goals conceded per game away in the tournament.
In the quarter-finals, a similar issue plagued the Villans as Emery’s side carried a narrow one-goal lead to LOSC Lille and then proceeded to concede two in the second leg, reinforcing their difficulty at limiting threat away from Villa Park.
To progress, Villa must now not only flex their attacking prowess but more importantly, must prove themselves to be a strong defensive outlet at a time when a European final is on the line.
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