Aston Villa are gearing up for their second-leg tie against Club Brugge, having beaten them 3-1 in the first-leg at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Unai Emery’s side held less of the ball with 44% possession, taking fewer shots with seven to Brugge’s 11 shots, but generating a higher xG than the Belgian outfit with 1.27 xG to their 1.05 xG.
Morgan-Rogers-Aston-Villa-Tielemans
Emery's side finished eighth in the UEFA Champions League group phase, whilst their opponents, Club Brugge, finished 24th in the group phase, only just sneaking in ahead of Dinamo Zagreb on 11 points, along with Sporting and Manchester City.
They head into the second leg with a two-goal lead which could affect Emery’s team selection, depending on his game plan. But, injuries could also have a part to play, as the Villans are set to be without a few of their stars.
Aston Villa team news before Brugge
It's good news for Emery, as Amadou Onana is closing in on his return to the side, having been out since the start of February with his most recent hamstring injury.
Chalkboard FFC
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Onana isn't the only one who is making his return to the squad this week, with Emiliano Martínez and Marco Asensio also both back in time for Villa's round of 16 second leg against Club Brugge.
Villa will still be without Ross Barkley, who remains absent through injury, along with Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen who are unavailable due to not being registered in the European squad list.
Lamare Bogarde Amadou Onana Aston Villa
With plenty of important players returning to the squad for this midweek clash, it will be interesting to see what Emery decides to do, with one option being to unleash his deadly wing pair who can provide the team with an attacking threat but also ball retention quality.
How Emery's attack should look against Brugge
Emery tends to set his side up in a 4-2-3-1, which on the ball can shift into a 3-2-5 shape, something many of the elite teams have adopted in recent years in their build-up.
Emery's way of creating this shape involves one of the full-backs being more attack-minded, allowing one of the wingers to drift inside and become the secondary number ten alongside Morgan Rogers.
morgan-rogers-aston-villa
One way Villa do this is with Lucas Digne providing width high on the left from left-back, and Jacob Ramsey drifting inside as the secondary number ten from the left wing.
However, another way since their January recruitment of creating this same structure but flipping the sides is by having Matty Cash provide width high on the right, with Marco Asensio drifting inside from the right wing.
Asensio vs Rashford in 2024/25
Stats (per 90 mins)
Goals
Assists
xG
xAG
Progressive Carries
Progressive Passes
Shots Total
Key Passes
Shot-Creating Actions
Successful Take-Ons
Stats taken from FBref
You can see from their underlying numbers the assets they bring to the team, with Asensio excelling in passing/creative metrics such as key passes, progressive passes and shot-creating actions, whilst Rashford excels in successful take-ons and progressive carries, making those more direct actions.
Marco Asensio & Marcus Rashford for Aston Villa
Asensio has been described as a "mentality monster" by Aston Villa teammate, Cash, after his substitute appearance made the difference against Club Brugge in the first leg of the tie.
In the game, Asensio came on for the final 26 minutes, scoring a penalty, putting both of his two shots on target and completing 100% of his passes (eight out of eight).
Emery could opt to start Asensio from the start, rather than Leon Bailey, giving them that extra security on the ball and the ability to retain possession, which could give Villa the desired control for this second-leg tie where they already have the two-goal advantage.
Duran-Villa-Nassr Related
[Aston Villa can forget Duran by unleashing their 19y/o "star in the making"](https://www.footballfancast.com/emery-can-forget-duran-by-unleashing-aston-villas-rory-wilson/ "Aston Villa can forget Duran by unleashing their 19y/o "star in the making"")
Villa might have their Duran replacement in the academy