Aston Villa out to continue improvement at site of club's finest hour

Exactly 12 months to the day since beating Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final, Unai Emery’s team head back to the very scene of the club’s finest hour.

Rotterdam’s De Kuip Stadium will always hold a special place in Villa’s history and in a Europa League group stage draw lacking the glamour of last season’s Champions League selection, Thursday’s clash with Feyenoord is comfortably the most eye-catching tie.

For a generation of fans the trip to Holland offers a tantalising trip down memory lane, albeit they will find a stadium much-changed since their first and most famous visit 43 years ago.

The match itself, of course, is far less prestigious. Indeed, with an opening night win over Bologna already on the board, there is an argument to say Sunday’s Premier League visit of Burnley, while clearly lacking the same kind of romance, should be the bigger priority for Emery and his players.

Victory over Bologna finally got Villa’s season up and running and after following it up with an even better performance to beat Fulham, the mood around Bodymoor Heath is markedly different to a week ago.

Both results were vital for Emery. Having criticised his players so publicly in the wake of the 1-1 draw at Sunderland, when he branded elements of their performance “lazy”, the manager needed a response.

The opening minutes of the second half against the Cottagers was the first time this season Villa have looked anything like the team they are expected to be.

Thursday offers the chance to continue the momentum, though it would also be a surprise if Emery did not make changes as he balances the importance of getting a result with the need to give players minutes on the pitch.

At least one switch will be enforced with Tyrone Mings poised to miss at least the next two matches through injury. That will mean a fourth start of the season for the improving Pau Torres, while Ian Maatsen should replace Lucas Digne at left-back as Emery continues to juggle his options in that position.

Of perhaps most interest is whether the boss hands another start to Harvey Elliott.

The Liverpool loanee has endured something of a difficult first month since his deadline day loan switch, being criticised by Emery in the wake of the Sunderland draw and then subbed at half-time on his full league debut for the club.

Emi Buendia, the man who replaced the 22-year-old against Fulham, has no doubt about his qualities and believes the competition for places in attacking areas can only be good for the team.

“We know what a good player he (Elliott) is,” he said. “He showed it at Liverpool in the last seasons and now he has signed with us. 

“Jadon (Sancho) too, we know how good he can be, so we try to help both of them. We try to get everyone involved as quickly as possible and help everyone.”