Aston Villa will be hoping for a deep Europa League run under Unai Emery as they face Lille in the round of 16 of the competition.
The Villa boss knows this tournament exceptionally well, winning three titles with Sevilla and another with Villarreal, as well as reaching the final in 2019 while in charge of Arsenal.
The Premier League side finished second in the league phase table to secure a high seeding, but face a relatively tricky tie against a Lille team in solid form in Ligue 1.
Managed by the experienced Bruno Genesio, they came through a tight play-off tie with Red Star Belgrade in extra time to reach this stage.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is Lille vs Aston Villa?
The first leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie is due to kick off at 5.45pm GMT on Thursday 11 March at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage from 5pm GMT. A live stream will be available via discovery+.
Team news
Lille’s injury list includes Ousmane Toure, Marc-Aurele Caillard, Hamza Igamane, Osame Sahraoui and Ethan Mbappe. Veteran Olivier Giroud is likely to start up front.
John McGinn is nearing a return for Aston Villa, and may even be back in the squad for this Europa League tie. Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara remain absent, though. Matty Cash underwent scans on a calf injury after the defeat to Chelsea but should be fit.
Predicted line-ups
Lille XI: Ozer; Santos, Ngoy, Mandi, Perraud; Bentaleb, Andre, Bouaddi; Haraldsson, Giroud, Correia.
Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana; Sancho, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins.
