Aston Villa face Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Villa arrive in the Netherlands looking to secure a third consecutive win in the competition and to keep our current positive run of form going across all fronts, but as with any away trip in Europe, it promises to be a difficult challenge.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference this week, Emery confirmed that Youri Tielemans, Andres Garcia, Lucas Digne and Ross Barkley would play no part, but we’ve had better news on the injury front in recent weeks with key individuals returning, and so it’s hoped we’ve got the quality and strength in depth to get the desired result regardless of our absentee list.
Want more Villa news? Subscribe to Talk Villa+ below for ad-free weekly newsletters, exclusive articles and much more sent directly to you. The TalkVilla podcast is also now available, have a listen, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!
As per the club’s post below, Villa have made seven changes to the side that started at Tottenham last weekend, with Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings, Ian Maatsen, Lamare Bogarde, Jadon Sancho, Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins coming into the XI.
It’s hoped that the reshuffle at the back doesn’t prevent us from putting in a solid defensive performance, as with Lindelof filling in at right-back coupled with the imbalance of having two left-footed centre-halves, there could be issues.
Nevertheless, we have experience and attacking quality to counter that, as well as top options on the bench to come on and impact the game if needed, and so hopefully Villa will be able to secure all three points in convincing fashion.
Emery has a tough job on his hands through the next couple of months as he rotates and tries to keep his squad fresh amid an increasingly hectic fixture schedule, and so it’s hoped that those who have been rested in midweek will be ready to go when we host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Your Villa XI this evening 👊 #UEL pic.twitter.com/v1huqliWNU
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 23, 2025