At A Glance
Aston Villa travel to northern France for the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final against LOSC Lille on Thursday evening.
Unai Emery's side hold a 2-1 advantage from last week's first meeting at Villa Park, with a place in the semi-finals of the competition at stake.
The Villans head into the encounter on the back of Sunday's stunning 2-0 victory at Arsenal, courtesy of goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins - his 26th of the season.
Villa are unbeaten in three matches and have suffered just one defeat in their previous seven in all competitions, with that coming at reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
That remains the club's sole reverse in their last 10 away matches on the road, while Villa are unbeaten in Europe since their loss to Legia Warszawa on matchday one.
Lille have not been in action since last week's first leg in B6, with defeat ending a seven-match unbeaten sequence for Paulo Fonseca’s side.
It was Lille's first loss in this season's Europa Conference League, while they remain flying high in fourth place in Ligue 1.
The French side are formidable on home soil and have not lost any of their previous 15 home matches in all competitions stretching back to September.
Jonathan David and Yusuf Yazici each have four goals for Lille in Europe this term and top their scoring charts.
The First Leg
Watkins and John McGinn secured a 2-1 victory for Villa, who were competing in their first major European last-eight tie for 26 years.
Watkins headed home his 25th goal of the season in the 13th minute to send Villa Park into raptures, before Emi Martínez made three superb first-half saves to preserve the hosts’ lead.
And it was captain McGinn who doubled Villa’s tally shortly after half-time with a well-taken low finish from 20 yards.
Gabriel Gudmundsson subsequently saw his effort ruled out for offside by VAR, before Bafode Diakite nodded in an 84th-minute reply for the visitors.
It was a crucial victory in the club’s 100th fixture in UEFA competitions and Emery’s 1,000th career match as a head coach.
The Boss
“We have to play two matches; the first leg we won but it’s not enough. We knew before the match it would be very difficult and they showed their capacity, their power and that they’re very motivated for this competition. When we are in Europe we have to be focusing and very demanding if we want to get something here. Now is the moment to show our capacity. Playing against a team like Lille, they are very motivated and they are a very organised team. The result at Villa Park was not enough for us or for them. We have to enjoy an amazing day, an amazing match being very demanding. We are ready to play and we are aware of the difficulties we are going to face.”
Unai Emery
