By Aston Villa FC

Aston Villa return to UEFA Europa Conference League action on Thursday night as HŠK Zrinjski visit Villa Park.

Unai Emery's side will be looking to get their Group E campaign up and running after a 3-2 loss to Legia Warszawa in Poland on matchday one last month.

It promises to be a memorable night under the lights in B6 as we host a European group stage match for the first time since 2008/09.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina league champions HŠK Zrinjski are the visitors and, ahead of the game, get to know more about their history, players and head coach.

HŠK Zrinjski

HŠK Zrinjski

HŠK Zrinjski journey to Villa Park after a stunning 4-3 victory against AZ Alkmaar on matchday one.

Based in Mostar, the club used home advantage to come back from 3-0 down at half-time and score four times in the second half to pull off an historic triumph.

Zrinjski’s route to this year’s Europa Conference League started when they won their domestic league, the Premijer Liga, last season, topping the table by 20 points.

It was the club’s eighth league title, making them the most successful club in Bosnia and Herzegovina having clinched their maiden triumph in 2005. The success earned them a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds, where they lost to Slovan Bratislava.

A narrow loss to LASK in Europa League qualifying meant they joined Villa in the Europa Conference League, becoming the first club from Bosnia and Herzegovina to feature in a major UEFA group stage

HŠK Zrinjski

Zrinjski currently sit in fourth place in the early stages of the 2023/24 Premijer Liga season, with a game in hand on their rivals, and have won their last three league matches.

Matchday One

HŠK Zrinjski 4 (Kozulj 48’, 81’, Corluka 68’, Hrvanovic 71’)

AZ Alkmaar 3 (van Brederode 10’, Mijnans 32’, de Wit 44’)

Bijeli Brijeg Stadium

Three To Watch

Wearing No.99 on the back of his shirt is Zrinjski’s captain and top scorer Nemanja Bilbija.

The 32-year-old leads by example and he fired his team to the title last season by scoring a league-high 24 goals. Bilbija, who has won four caps for Bosnia and Herzegovina, has continued that form at the start of the current campaign.

HŠK Zrinjski

A holding midfielder, Dario Canadjija is a recent signing at Zrinjski after joining from Croatian side Šibenik in July. The 29-year-old has been a mainstay of the team over the early part of the season, calling upon plenty of experience from a career that’s taken him to six countries.

Croatian winger Mario Ćuže is one of Zrinjski’s main creative outlets and attacking threats.

Capable of playing on either the left or right flank, the 24-year-old has been a consistent performer since joining from Dinamo Zagreb in June 2022. An initial loan move was made permanent in the summer and he’s been a regular in the assist and goal columns in Zrinjski colours.

Head Coach

HŠK Zrinjski

Despite being in charge for less than a year, Krunoslav Rendulić has enjoyed great success as Zrinjski manager.

The 50-year-old joined in November 2022 after a spell in Croatia with HNK Gorica, immediately overseeing a 14-game winning run across the league and cup.

Rendulić ended the season by putting two trophies in the cabinet for Zrinjski, securing the league title with four games to play before beating city rivals Velez Mostar in the cup final.