Aston Villa Face Lille in Quarter-finals
If there’s one team that most of the remaining teams in this season’s Europa Conference League didn’t want to face, it would be Aston Villa. The favourite for the tournament from the get-go and their current Premier League position of fourth certainly provides a warning to the other teams, on top of the comfortable 4-0 win over Ajax.
The team that Villa drew in the quarter-final stage though, Lille, were considered by many to be the second or third favourites, and are a team who have beaten Villa over two legs in European football before. The two teams previously clashed in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, drawing 1-1 in France before Villa lost 2-0 at Villa Park to get knocked out 3-1 on aggregate.
The first leg is scheduled to take place at Villa Park on Thursday, April 11 at the confirmed time of 8pm (UK time), with the second leg a week later in Lille on Thursday, April 18 at 5.45pm (UK time).
Waiting for the winner will be the victors of Olympiacos vs Fenerbahce. If Villa were to progress, Villa’s travelling supporters would certainly get to experience a white hot away atmosphere in the semi-final, whoever out of the two teams they faced.
With Fenerbahce in Villa’s side of the draw to the final, three of the four favourites in the eyes of the bookies are on that side of the draw, providing Villa with a real test.
Looking ahead to the final in Athens, the winners of semi-final 1 (Villa, Lille, Olympiacos or Fenerbahçe) will be deemed the ‘home’ team in the final for administrative purposes.
Conference League quarter-final draw in full
Club Bruges vs PAOK
Olympiacos vs Fenerbahce
Aston Villa vs Lille
Viktoria Plzen vs Fiorentina
Conference League semi-final draw in full
Aston Villa or Lille vs Olympiacos or Fenerbahce
Viktoria Plzen or Fiorentina vs Club Bruges or PAOK
The first leg of the semi-final will happen on May 2, with the second leg matches coming the following week on May 9.
UTV
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