Moussa Diaby is looking forward to playing in his homeland as Aston Villa look to reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
The French winger and his teammates take on LOSC Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Thursday night, holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg.
Diaby, who has a Ligue 1 winners medal, expects nothing less than a very tough match on his return to France.
“It’s always nice to be back in France,” he said.
“I started here with Paris Saint-Germain and I’ve already played against Lille in this stadium.
“I’m always happy to be back in this stadium and I hope we’ll play a great game tomorrow. I’ve got some good memories here.”
Lucas Digne is a teammate of Diaby’s for club and country and is also well acquainted with Villa’s opponents having come through their academy.
Diaby said: “It’s true that he started here in Lille and he knows that it’s going to be a complicated game here tomorrow.
“We saw in the first leg that Lille are a very good team and they’ve got a great coach.
“They’re going to have their fans behind them and they really want to win. I had a chat with Lucas and he has good memories of this club.”
Diaby has been a key part of Villa’s domestic and European progress this season, contributing eight goals and seven assists.
The 24-year-old was enticed to join the club from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and hopes he can help deliver success on multiple fronts.
“When I signed here the objective of the project was clear: be part of the top four in the Premier League, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
“I knew we were going to play in the Conference League. The objectives are set and clear, we want to go as far as possible in all competitions.
“The Conference League is part of that and I hope we’ll be able to reach the semi-finals.”
