Aston Villa – Lille: LOSC take on the Villa Park fortress 
This Thursday night Villa Park will roar for a tense Europa League round-of-16 second leg. Villa head into the game with a slim one-goal lead from the first leg (1-0). Lille arrive hot and hungry for revenge. The aim is simple for both sides: book a quarter-final spot and keep European dreams alive.
Aston Villa — hit-and-miss domestically 
In Europe Unai Emery’s team have been firing on all cylinders. That narrow win up north last week — an Ollie Watkins header — not only put them in front but also handed Emery his 100th victory in charge. Eight wins in nine in the competition tell you everything: Villa know how to win on this stage and they want a third straight European quarter-final.
Back in the Premier League, it’s another story. Villa have dropped three league games on the spin, most recently a 3-1 loss at Manchester United, and their hold on fourth looks fragile. The Europa League suddenly looks like a serious route back into next season’s Champions League. One caveat: Villa have won every European home game this season, but their defence has been leaky at Villa Park lately — nine goals conceded in their last five home matches across all competitions.
Lille believe they can pull off a heist 
The sting of the first leg is still fresh. Bruno Genesio’s men dominated at times but couldn’t finish their chances and now they’re up against it — deja vu after losing out to Villa two years ago in European competition. Still, Lille don’t panic. They know how to flip a tie.
They already pulled off a remarkable turnaround at Red Star Belgrade this season after losing the first leg. Boosted by a solid 2-1 win at Rennes at the weekend that nudged them closer to the top four, Lille head to England with the bit between their teeth. To get through they’ll need to soak up pressure at Villa Park, then hit the right moments and make the crowd nervous.
Probable line-ups
Aston Villa: Martinez ; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen ; Luiz, Onana ; McGinn, Rogers, Sancho ; Watkins
Lille: Ozer ; Santos, Mbemba, Mandi, Perraud ; Bentaleb, Andre ; Mukasu, Haraldsson, Perrin ; Giroud
Football Prediction Aston Villa vs Lille
Aston Villa to win
Lille have serious mental strength and have shown they can turn around ties away from home. Still, this is a tall order against one of the competition favourites.
Even if Villa have stuttered domestically recently, Unai Emery is a European tactician. Backed by a noisy home crowd and holding that away goal advantage, Villa should control the tempo, use their athletic edge and edge into the quarter-finals after a tight, physical tie.
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