Ceemo

3-1 now to Olympiacos. They are on the brink.

Saved!! 2-1 to Olympiacos after 3 penalties each.

Great save by Livakovic and Batshuayi just about scores. 1-1 after 2 penalties each.

Tadic misses. 1-0 to Olympiacos after the first couple of penalties.

Olympiacos and Fenerbahce are 10 minutes from penalties.

If that second yellow card stands for Martinez he will miss the first leg of the semi-final as he was also booked in the first leg. Nevertheless we wouldn't be anywhere near it without him.

Cash still out and Lenglet out with a small problem according to Emery. Chambers not registered in the Conference League squad so Villa have no senior back-ups. Guess that if one of the centre-backs or Konsa has a problem, then Kesler-Hayden would move in at right-back. Possibly Bogarde on the bench?

Not on the bench Saturday. Another injury?

Lille will almost certainly will be in the Champions League next season so if we want to compete at that level, this will be the sort of the game ahead of us next season. And yes, I'm a football fan just as much as being a Villa fan at the end of the day with a keen interest in the sport in general and love to keep up to date and watch other leagues/players in general. Have only really got down to watching Lille fully since the draw was made in fairness, but would have seen them here and there throughout the season. As for the NFL, for us here, it is perfect to follow on Sunday evenings throughout the dark winter.

Lille playing Marseille now. Marseille in the quarter-finals of the Europa League so a good barometer of where Lille are at the moment. UPDATE: 0-0 at half-time almost predictably. Pretty boring watch. Lille looking the likelier to break the deadlock. Zhegrova had a excellent chance saved and Alexsandro Ribeiro had a good header tipped over by Lopez. Plenty of long balls over the top from Lille looking for the pace of the wingers and then sitting in a low block when Marseille attack. Very little play in the middle of the pitch. 1-0 Lille. Loose pass by Marseille intercepted by David who is fouled in the box. He steps up and put Lille in front almost out of nowhere. 2-0 Lille. Lille have been ok, but Marseille have been absolutely terrible. Unable to make simple 5-yard passes. Cabella pounces on another mistake and sticks it in the top corner. 2-1. Freak goal rebounds off in somehow as the defenders got into a terrible tangle. Come from nowhere for Marseille. 3-1 Lille. Another mistake by Marseille. This time a poor clearance, and Lille work it well on the right before Gudmundsson finishes it. Finished 3-1. Lille just sat and waited for the Marseille mistakes and came alive when they did. Lille played almost exclusively on the counter-attack the whole game and it worked like a charm. Zhegrova and David are quite clearly their best players. They come alive in that final third and have loads of spark. To beat them for me, you need to get around their workmanlike midfield in Bentaleb and Andre who protect the back four. Villa need physicality in there which McGinn should provide and get at that back four.

Yeah Palace would be a very good comparison in that certainly under Hogdson they didn't seem to be very much a big risk-taking side. David is a better striker than what Palace have at the moment though and Lille are better defensively for sure, although it hard to compare the two leagues. The French League certainly this season has been very, very defensive on the whole and so Lille are not only ones in that aspect. You look at Lille in Ligue 1, and they have scored just 39 goals from 27 games but only conceded 24. They have had a couple of 3-0's and a 4-0, but generally their games have been tight. In Europe, in what was a easy group, they scored 10 from their 6 games but only conceded twice. They beat Sturm Graz comfortably in the knockout stage and so haven't really had a challenge in Europe. I'd expect them to come to Villa Park next week and sit back with a low block and soak up the pressure and counter with the front 3. Paulo Fonseca is a serious coach and Emery will have his work cut out for him.

The French Authorities towards the end of March changed the fixtures for PSG and Lille to help them in Europe. Lille were set to face Marseille before us and then Monaco between the first and second leg. Two massive game for them in the chase for Champions League football. They have allowed Lille to postpone the Monaco game until later in the month and so they now have a week between both legs whilst we will have to face Arsenal. It certainly makes things more difficult. Have watched Lille's last two games against Brest and Lens. Very good side. Press very well and play very controlled football. They aren't particularly an exciting side and aren't going to hammer you as well as unlikely to get hammered. Outside David, their squad don't score enough goals. First game against Brest, they were the better for most of it but conceded a soft goal and had to settle for a point. They pretty much dominated throughout against Lens in the North Derby, until Lens scored late on and they had a little bit of panic but deservedly won. They face Marseille on Friday night in another big game. Chevalier looks a good prospect in goal, whilst centre-back Yoro is linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs. Captain Benjamin Andre is 33 but is probably playing as well as ever in midfield, alongside former Spurs and Newcastle player, Bentaleb. Another former Newcastle player in Cabella is on the books but would be unlikely to start. David is well known up top and Zhegrova looks a very good player and your typical winger.

No win in 12 for Everton now.

Poor, poor Sheffield United but amazing finish by Muniz.

Fulham fans were probably dining off the win against Spurs for 2 weeks and then return to losing to Sheffield United. That's football for you.

Unlucky for Burnley as Mudryk had lost control of the ball. Terrible decision and then a red card to boot.

Despite supposedly being only out for a few weeks, there is still no sign of Nedeljkovic playing for Red Star. According to this article, Villa found a hip issue after a heavy game load at such a young age. https://izprveruke.rs/misterija-zvana-kosta-nedeljkovic/?feed_id=58603&_unique_id=660463f02c025

Of course they do, but it's a bid mad since Olsen hasn't been a first-choice goalkeeper at his clubs for about 5 years, but obviously the Swedish goalkeeping situation must be in a bad way. Looking at it, it seems like former Villa youth keeper, Viktor Johansson is their second-choice at the moment.

Fair is fair. Kept a clean sheet against Albania and did what he asked to do. At least he has got two games under his belt if the worst becomes the worst.

Started for Sweden tonight against Portugal. Conceded 5. Not much he could do about any of them to be fair, but no idea how he still starts for Sweden.

Very innocuous. Hopefully not too serious.

Betano currently sponsor Braga and Sporting Lisbon

Massive news. Doubles the current deal but is still another gambling sponsor. 2-year-deal which ends when the ban on gambling sponsorship starts.

West Ham by comparison had a much easier run last season. AEK Larnaca, Gent, AZ and then Fiorentina in the final. A much tougher competition this season.

A return to Lille for Digne who he began his career with.