Yahoo News Paulo Fonseca reveals Lille injury blow ahead of Aston Villa clash as Arsenal warning fired
Paulo Fonseca admits he has struggled to find a weakness in Unai Emery's Aston Villa side ahead of the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final on Thursday night.
Fonseca and Lille striker Jonathan David were present at this afternoon's press conference at Lille's impressive Domaine de Luchin, around 10 minutes drive from the Stade Pierre Mauroy, where Emery will speak to the press himself later this evening. Villa have a one-goal advantage over the French club, but in front of nearly 50,000 supporters and after a weekend break from domestic duties, Lille will fancy their chances.
"I think they play a major role and they always do," David said of the Lille fans. "If we can score the first goals it will give us a big boost and a lot of energy. I think obviously the break will help, playing every three days is hard to recover," he continued.
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"We are fresher now and ready to go physically speaking. I watched the game (vs Arsenal) and it proves that Aston Villa is a team you shouldn’t underestimate. Even if Arsenal had a couple of opportunities, the result shows that we will once face a big challenge tomorrow."
Indeed, Villa have momentum after causing an upset in the capital last time out, but it will be crucial that Emery's players focus on their next job in hand against a Lille side who have only lost at home once this season in all competitions.
"We have analysed the way Villa play, but they know our profile and the players too," Fonseca said. "We have prepared the game to win, not to defend. We dominated the first leg, had lots of opportunities to score. This time we need to score and make it happen.
"It’s a very dangerous game against a strong team. We know we have to take risks anyway, but Aston Villa are a dangerous team so we can’t afford to make any mistakes. We need to be secure and pick the right moment to take risks and possibly score. We have to be extra careful and attack well when we have our opportunities.
"It’s hard to find weak points to this team, really. We need to understand the way they play. The Arsenal game was a great example because they defend well, they are very quick and swift. Their counter attacks are very fast so we need to figure out what we have to do tomorrow. They always wait for the right moments to counter. It’s one of the best teams in transition that I have seen in all major championships.
"I think they have an advantage because they are ahead, so I expect this attitude with fast counter attacks. A little bit like their Arsenal game was - that is the example."
Ollie Watkins put Villa ahead against Lille last week, before John McGinn doubled the advantage on the hour mark. Lille centre-back Yoro is attracting interest across the continent for his potential, but Fonseca admits he has plenty to learn after struggling against Watkins last time out.
"The first thing I can say is he is only 18 still," the Lille boss said. "He can improve especially in the contacts and duels. He watched the game back on video and he knows how he needs to improve and progress."
Lille have been handed a blow ahead of hosting Villa as winger Edon Zhegrova has been ruled out through an ankle injury.
Speaking of his side's team news, Fonseca said: "We won’t have Rafa Fernandes, Ignacio Miramon, Andrej Ilic, Samuel Umtiti and Edon Zhegrova. Adam Ounas will be with us."
