This week, Aston Villa travels to Bosnia to play Zrinjski Mostar, aware that a victory would guarantee them a top-four position in the group. This is the XI we projected.
For Aston Villa this season, their Europa Conference League campaign has gotten off to an almost flawless start thus far.
Unai Emery’s team has won all but one of their games since losing to Legia Warsaw in their opening encounter. This included victories over AZ Alkmaar in back-to-back games as well as a hard-fought victory over the Polish team in the rematch.
With this performance, the Villans will undoubtedly advance to the following round of the competition. Having said that, they can win the group if they score at least one point against Zrinjski.
Given that their spot has already been assured, the starting lineup this midweek may see numerous alterations. Here is our lineup prediction for the match against Zrinjski.
Zrinjski Mostar vs. Aston Villa: Predicted starting lineup
Although Robin Olsen did enter the game recently, Emi Martinez has been the Villans’ constant in goal. The Swede might not play here because he did not sit on the bench in the previous two games. Having said that, Filip Marschall might make his Villa debut.
Though they have been excellent lately, the backline will probably see some adjustments. Both Alex Moreno and Clement Lenglet will start right away. Matty Cash, who was recently moved to right-back, will return to that position. Although anyone could start in the right center-back position, we predict Ezri Konsa to start.
There are going to be some alterations in midfield. Considering his cameo against Arsenal, Leander Dendoncker ought to start. Douglas Luiz ought to start today versus Brentford because he is suspended. Nicolo Zaniolo and Jacob Ramsey, who both require more playing time, will be beside them.
Moussa Diaby and Jhon Duran, who both desperately need minutes and a goal, are up front in our expected starting XI. When combined, these two might be a serious threat to the Zrinjski defense. Their quickness, strength, and goal-scoring ability should be sufficient to win all three points.
There are more than enough quality players to get past Zrinjski and win the game, even though there are a lot of changes to the starting lineup.
Predicted XI: Marschall, Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Moreno, Zaniolo, Luiz, Dendoncker, Ramsey, Diaby, Watkins
