ECL: Villa seeking revenge, but also a ticket for the last-16
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 30.11.23. | 17:33
Unai Emery's slot lost to Legia Warsaw 3-2 in the opening group game and now needs a victory to go directly through
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says they will be seeking revenge for their defeat in Poland when they host Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
Villa lost 3-2 at Legia in the opening group game, but they have won all three games since and sit on nine points with their Polish opponents.
"They were feeling strong at home and we lost because we deserved it," said Emery.
"For us, it was a very good example of the difficulties of this competition."
The Spaniard added: "Both teams are going to play trying to take another step ahead in this competition and see who is first in the group.
"We want to face this match trying to get a small amount of revenge for the match we played there, trying to impose our capacity, our skill and our gameplan on the pitch."
Villa need to beat Legia to realise their hopes of finishing top. The Europa Conference League factors in the head-to-head record before goal difference, so the Polish side have the edge.
𝟲𝟬% ✅
— LiveScore (@livescore) November 30, 2023
Unai Emery has the highest win rate of any Aston Villa manager in history 👏 pic.twitter.com/80RkCjhyZE
The group winners go into the last 16, while the runners-up have to play two extra games - a playoff round to reach the last 16.
"I don't know exactly, if it's better that we are not playing those two matches in case we finish second, but, of course, it's better to finish first in the group because the consistency we can show doing it is better than not," said Emery.
"If we are playing two matches more because we are finishing second, I will accept it."
UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Group stage - Matchday 5
Thursday
18:30: (4.20) Astana (3.60) Dinamo Zagreb (1.95)
20:45: (3.80) Ki Klaksvik (3.60) Slovan B. (2.05)
20:45: (5.50) Olimpija (3.70) Lille (1.67)
20:45: (1.20) Gent (7.75) Zorya (16.0)
20:45: (2.30) Ballkani (3.50) Plzen (3.25)
20:45: (3.00) Besiktas (3.50) Club Brugge (2.45)
20:45: (1.37) Bodo (5.10) Lugano (7.75)
20:45: (1.30) AZ Alkmaar (5.80) Zrinjski (9.00)
20:45: (2.30) Helsinki (3.50) Aberdeen (3.25)
23:00: (7.50) Breidablik (4.60) Maccabi T.A. (1.42)
23:00: (1.30) Aston Villa (6.50) Legia (10.0)
23:00: (5.90) Cukaricki (4.00) Ferencvaros (1.58)
23:00: (1.60) Fiorentina (4.10) Genk (6.25)
23:00: (1.62) Eintr.Frankfurt (4.10) PAOK (6.00)
23:00: (2.95) Nordsjaelland (3.50) Fenerbahce (2.50)
23:00: (4.80) Trnava (3.60) Ludogorets (1.77)
***odds are subject to change***
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