Aston Villa will kick-start their UEFA Europa Conference League group stage with an away trip to square up against Legia Warsaw.
Polish club Legia Warsaw are all set to square up against Aston Villa for the first time in history. Both clubs have made it to the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League after winning their respective play-offs. They will be eager to get things underway in the group stage with a win.
Legia Warsaw have made it to the group stage of the Conference League after winning two qualifying rounds and the playoffs. They squared up against Midtjylland in the playoffs which ended 4-4 over two legs and post that the Polish club managed to snatch a win in the penalties.
Of late, Legia have been in sensational form. They are unbeaten in their last seven matches and are heading into this home fixture against Villa on the back of a 1-1 draw against Piast Gliwice. They will look to return to winning ways when they square up against Unai Emery’s men.
Meanwhile, the visitors squared up against Hibernian in the play-offs and managed to win 8-0 over two legs. They were absolutely sensational in both the outings and managed to outclass the Scottish club.
Emery’s men have won five out of their last six matches. They have scored 18 goals in those six games and have only conceded five goals, three of which came in their defeat at the hands of Liverpool. They are heading into this Conference League fixture on the back of a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace and will look to build on that result.
Both teams have been in great form heading into this fixture and it is going to be a high-voltage encounter. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Legia Warsaw
📍 Łazienkowska 3
📸 @mat_kostrzewa pic.twitter.com/gBdZkWaIfl
— Legia Warszawa 🏆 (@LegiaWarszawa) September 19, 2023
The home team will be without the services of Rafal Augustyniak, Bartosz Kapustka, Ramil Mustafaev, and Blaz Kramer for this fixture. Kosta Runjaic is not expected to make any major changes to his starting XI, and he will most likely stick to the 3-5-2 formation where Kacper Tobiasz will be in goal.
The three-man defence will consist of Artur Jedrzejczyk, Radovan Pankov, and Yuri Ribeiro. The trio will have a tough day in the office as they will square up against some high-quality attackers. They will be supported by Pawel Wszolek and Patryk Kun who will feature as wing-backs in the centre of the park.
Bartosz Slisz and Juergen Elitim will be the two central midfielders. The duo will look to keep hold of the ball as much as possible and supply balls to their attackers. Meanwhile, Josue Pesqueira will feature as an attacking midfielder behind the two forwards. 34-year-old Czech striker Tomas Pekhart will pair up with Ernest Muci in attack.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Tobiasz; Ribeiro, Jedrzejczyk, Pankov; Wszolek, Elitim, Josue, Slisz, Kun; Muci, Pekhart
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has no fresh injury concerns, and he has a majority of his players available for this away fixture against Legia Warsaw. The Spanish manager is expected to make a few changes to the XI that took the field in their last outing.
He will stick to the 4-3-3 formation, and Emiliano Martinez will take charge in goal. Robin Olsen was the preferred choice during the playoffs. But with the group stage now underway, Martinez is expected to be the man in goal.
Tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/5Bc8KmYzkr
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 20, 2023
Matty Cash and Alex Moreno will start out wide as the full-backs. The duo will look to join the attack whenever possible. Meanwhile, in the heart of the defence, Ezri Konsa will pair up with Clement Lenglet.
Youri Tielemans will start in the centre of the park, and he will have the support of Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn. The trio will look to dictate the pace of this game and control the majority of the ball possession.
Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby should start on either flank. The duo will look to stretch the opposition’s defence and use their pace to get in behind them. Meanwhile, Jhon Duran is expected to feature as their number nine after his heroics in their last outing.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Moreno; Tielemans, Kamara, McGinn; Bailey, Duran, Diaby
Key Stats
- Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw have never faced each other; this will be the first meeting between the two teams.
- Legia Warsaw last faced an English team back in the 2021/22 season when they squared up against Leicester City in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
- The last time Aston Villa faced Polish opposition in a competitive game was back in 1977.
- The home team have not kept a clean sheet in their five games across all competitions.
- The visitors have scored in 15 out of their last 16 matches in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Youri Tielemans
Youri Tielemans has had limited game time since arriving at the club on a free transfer after his contract with Leicester City ran out. The 26-year-old midfielder has featured in seven matches but he has been on the pitch for less than 250 minutes.
The Belgian international has not had the best of starts to life at Aston Villa and he has been left frustrated. But he is expected to start against Legia Warsaw. The former Leicester City midfielder is an exceptional player who surely is the difference between the two teams. He will be eager to put up a brilliant show in their Conference League opener and cement a spot in Unai Emery’s first XI.
Prediction
Legia Warsaw 0-2 Aston Villa
Legia Warsaw are in sensational form, and they are unbeaten in their last seven matches. As far as their track record at home is concerned, they have won six of their last seven games in their own backyard.
Meanwhile, the visitors have won five of their last six games in all competitions. They have been in decent overall form and have a much stronger squad than that of the home team. Given the quality of their squad and the presence of tactical genius Unai Emery in their ranks, The Hard Tackle believes Aston Villa will come out on top with a scoreline of 2-0.
