Captain Martin Laursen leads Villa into battle tonight with the task of shackling the most sought-after hitman in European football.

The Ajax attack will be led by captain Klaas Jan Huntelaar, already thought to have been the subject of a rejected 30m euros approach from Manchester City’s new owners on deadline day.

Huntelaar is the “next big thing” expected to follow the Van Nistelrooy route out of Holland and keeping him quiet will be a key assignment for the Villa defence in this opening UEFA Cup group game.

The good news for Laursen and his colleagues is that the 25-year-old Holland striker has been struggling this season to match his Van Nistelrooy-like scoring rate.

Huntelaar has been a prolific goalscorer throughout his career, scoring 70 goals in 82 appearances in his first two years in Amsterdam.

But his third campaign with Ajax has started slowly – at least by his standards – with two goals in six games.

Laursen is filled with a sense of occasion, as he prepares to lead out Villa for the club’s biggest European fixture in 10 years.

He said: “We’re all aware that it has been too long since Aston Villa played at this level in European football. There’s a special atmosphere about these games and the fans, I know, have been waiting for a game like this for a long time.

“Ajax are struggling a bit in the league but they are a big name in European football. Our younger players will know a lot more about what European football is all about after this game.”

For all the magic of the opposition’s name – and a near full house expected – Ajax are struggling to emerge from a poor start to the season, which has left them off the pace in the Dutch league.

Laursen said: “We have an Ajax player in the Danish national squad, who came to us after they lost 5-2 to Herenveen before the internationals. They had a big meeting after and they knew they had to improve.

“They got their win at the weekend I notice, so although they may not be on top of their game they are feeling better.”

Huntelaar scored the only goal in the defeat of Groningen, with Villa manager Martin O’Neill since mulling over the DVD of the match and absorbing the reports of his scouts.

He will warn his team to expect a classic Dutch footballing outfit.

He said: “I think as befits any Ajax side, they are so comfortable on the ball and their players are all easy in possession. They can have the ball played into them in difficult situations but manouevre the ball superbly. In Huntelaar, they seem to have a player who is wanted by every side in European football.

“Our idea at the start of last year was to finish high enough to qualify for European football. The UEFA Cup probably picks up momentum when you go back into the KO stages but matches such as this one should galvanise us.

“I think there’s a buzz. The players are really looking forward to it .”

Villa will step up security – an added police presence – around the dug out, following Saturday’s disturbing coin-throwing incident against Portsmouth, for which the club are still seeking the culprit.