Regarding his team selection for Aston Villa’s Conference League match against AZ Alkmaar, Unai Emery has been speaking.
The starting lineup for Unai Emery’s Europa Conference League match against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night is still up in the air. Aston Villa is hoping to recover from their unexpected Premier League loss to Nottingham Forest this past weekend.
Though Emery’s team is currently leading Zrinjski and AZ Alkmaar by three points in their Conference League group, they still have three games left. They play the Dutch team again on Thursday night at Villa Park, where they currently have a 4-1 head-to-head advantage.
Although Villa wants to win the Conference League this year, they also need to focus on competing in Europe and the Premier League, where they are currently in fifth place, in order to qualify for the Champions League, which might be sufficient.
Because of this, rotations might be expected on Thursday night, but even Emery is unsure if the team will play just yet. “I’m not sure about tomorrow. In his press conference prior to the game, he stated, “I am not really clear on the starting XI.” “It is not because I have doubts with players, but because I want to be clinical in my decision.”
The Spaniard continued, “I want to try to use every player, and I am going to be very demanding not only with the players in the starting XI.” in reference to rotations. “I really respect them (AZ Alkmaar),” he went on. They will attempt to win because they are winning a lot of games in their league.”
Youri Tielemans, a Belgian who signed a contract this summer but has yet to start a Premier League game, has been a big fan favourite. When asked if the Conference League would be a good place to give Tielemans a minute, Emery responded, “He is a very good player, he has experiences [in Europe] and he is progressing better.”