Both teams needed penalties to get through their quarter-finals—Villa edged out Lille, while Olympiacos beat Fenerbahce. Unai Emery, who has an impressive track record in European competitions with three Europa League titles and two runner-up finishes, is now eyeing Conference League success in his first full season with Aston Villa. This follows a dramatic two-legged quarter-final against Lille just a couple of weeks ago.
Villa had let a 2-1 first-leg lead slip against Lille, but Matty Cash equalized to take the tie to penalties. Emiliano Martinez then became the hero, saving two penalties to help Villa win the shootout 4-3.
Villa is on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, though both ends of that streak saw them let two-goal leads slip in Premier League draws against Brentford and Chelsea. In the most recent game against Chelsea, they were up 2-0 at halftime but ended up drawing 2-2.
Despite those hiccups, Emery's side is still on track for Champions League football next season, currently sitting fourth in the Premier League, seven points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham, who have two games in hand but lost to Arsenal in their last match.
Villa's ability to balance European and domestic challenges will be put to the test in the coming week. Though they have never faced Greek opposition before, they should be confident, given their perfect home record in this season's Europa Conference League—they've won all six home games. Plus, they’ve scored in 30 of their last 31 European home matches.
Olympiacos, on the other hand, is celebrating their first-ever UEFA semi-final appearance after a dramatic quarter-final win over Fenerbahce on penalties following a 3-3 draw over two legs. They lost the second leg 1-0 in Istanbul, but goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis was the hero in the shootout, saving three penalties to overcome missed attempts from Youssef El-Arabi and Rodinei.
Since taking charge in mid-February, manager Jose Luis Mendilibar has won 12 out of 17 games across all competitions. His team ended a seven-game winless streak last weekend with a resounding 4-1 Greek Super League victory over Lamia. While they are trailing in a tight four-way title race in Greece, Olympiacos must focus on the Conference League, with Mendilibar, who led Sevilla to Europa League glory last season, tasked with guiding the team through a tricky first-leg clash against Aston Villa.
Winning in Birmingham could be challenging, though. Olympiacos has only won three of their last 19 European trips to England, with the most recent defeat coming against West Ham in the Europa League group stage last November. Their only victories in this run were against Arsenal. With both teams having something to prove, Thursday night's game promises to be an intriguing battle.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Aston Villa will be without their star goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, for the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos, as he’s dealing with a "small" thigh injury and is also serving a suspension. In his place, Robin Olsen, who previously played for Olympiacos' rival club PAOK, is set to take over in goal.Midfielder Youri Tielemans left the Chelsea game early with a groin injury and won’t be available on Thursday. Other absentees for Villa include Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings (all due to knee injuries), Jacob Ramsey (foot), and Alex Moreno (calf). The good news is that Nicolo Zaniolo is feeling better and could be ready to return to the matchday squad.
Moussa Diaby, who came on for Tielemans in the Chelsea game but was later substituted after an underwhelming performance, might get another chance on Thursday. Either Diaby or Jhon Duran could join Ollie Watkins in attack as Villa looks to compensate for the absences.
For Olympiacos, there are also some key players unavailable. Ruben Vezo, Gelson Martins, and Nelson Abbey, all of whom played in last weekend’s win over Lamia, are not part of the Europa Conference League squad, so they won't feature on Thursday.
Additionally, Andreas Ndoj and Georgios Masouras are suspended, with Ndoj having been sent off in the second leg against Fenerbahce. However, Panagiotis Retsos is available again after serving a one-match ban and is expected to start in central defense alongside David Carmo.
Olympiacos has some flexibility at left-back, where Nottingham Forest loanee Omar Richards is challenging Francisco Ortega for a starting role. In attack, Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Daniel Podence could partner with Kostas Fortounis and El Kaabi, who leads the team with 27 goals in all competitions this season. With both teams missing key players, the first leg could be an interesting mix of new lineups and fresh tactics.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Luiz, McGinn; Rogers; Duran, Watkins
Olympiacos possible starting lineup:
Tzolakis; Rodinei, Restos, Carmo, Ortega; Horta, Chiquinho, Hezze; Fortounis, El Kaabi, Podence
EXPERT PREDICTION
Aston Villa 2-0 Olympiacos
Ten of the last 11 games to be held at Villa Park have seen at least three or more goals scored, and another entertaining match could be in store on Thursday.
Although Aston Villa could be missing a few key players, we believe Emery still has enough quality at his disposal to steer the hosts to a first-leg victory over Olympiacos.
