Basel v Aston Villa: predicted line-up, team news and match preview
Aston Villa will continue their Europa League quest with an away fixture against Swiss Super League side FC Basel on Thursday.
Villa have won four of their five league phase matches in this season’s Europa League and are level on points with Lyon of France and Danish side Midtjylland at the top of the lease phase table. There’s work to do to secure automatic qualification and, ideally, to finish in the top two.
Unai Emery is well aware of the benefits of home advantage throughout the knock-out rounds but the first order of business is to keep pace at the top of the table by beating Basel in Switzerland on Thursday. That’s easier said than done.
Basel’s home form threatens to throw Villa off course
While Basel are fighting for their lives in terms of a play-off place in the next round of the Europa League, the location of Villa’s game against the Swiss side is significant.
Basel have played three Europa League matches away and two at home. Every one of their fixtures has been won by the home side.
Ludovic Magnin’s team have beaten Stuttgart and FCSB in their two home games at St Jakob-Park but have only won four of their seven home fixtures in the Super League this season. They’ve been beaten on their own turf by Luzern and Lugano, drawing with St Gallen in their most recent home fixture.
Villa team news
Emery will be without injured duo Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley, who will likely be out for another month and two months respectively.
Villa are also assessing the apparently minor injury that kept Evann Guessand out of the side for the Premier League win against Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday. Guessand has returned to full training.
Otherwise, the squad is in good shape and everyone will be available for Thursday’s trip to the city where Switzerland, France and Germany meet.
Villa predicted line-up v Basel
Guessand’s potential absence creates a puzzle for Emery, who has been minded to play the Ivorian winger in Europa League matches so far this season. I think he’d rather let John McGinn sit the game out but my bet is the Villa captain will come in for Guessand on the right.
Morgan Rogers plays whenever he’s available, leaving one spot out on the left. After seeing more positive link play between Ian Maatsen and Jadon Sancho, Emery could plump for both from the start in Basel.
Villa’s back four has been unpredictable in Europe this season. Maatsen is a Europa League regular and Pau Torres has no fit back-up, but I can see Emery resting Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa.
The same could be true for Boubacar Kamara, which would bring Amadou Onana back into the starting eleven.
Where to watch Basel v Villa
Villa’s away game against Basel will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+ in the UK.
Read more ➡️ How to watch Basel v Aston Villa: kick-off time, TV channels and streams
Christmas shopping with the Villa
Are you enjoying what we do at AVF? Here’s how you can support our work and enable more of it.
If you’re planning on doing some Christmas shopping in the official Aston Villa store, access the site using our affiliate link.
It won’t cost you a penny extra and we get a small reward for sending you there. What’s not to like?
The post Basel v Aston Villa: predicted line-up, team news and match preview appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.