Midweek cup action continues across Europe, headlined by the first round of league phase fixtures in the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday and Thursday. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest in the middle of a busy week.
It has been a few years since Unai Emery last led a team in the UEFA Europa League, but the competition’s most successful manager will make his comeback on Thursday when Aston Villa host Bologna with the hopes of proving their worth as the oddsmakers’ favorites to win the whole thing.
Emery, a five-time Europa League finalist and four-time winner, is far from the only reason the odds favor Villa. This season’s competition is mostly made up of teams one might expect to see in Europe’s second-best club competition, Roma and last season’s UEFA Conference League finalists Real Betis among the group, Emery’s side rising to the top of that list easily considering their powers. Many of their core players, like goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and forward Ollie Watkins, stuck around despite links to other Premier League rivals over the summer.
The manager should be in his happy place, as James Benge describes it, when he returns to the Europa League touchline on Thursday, but all is not well in Birmingham. Villa have scored just one goal in five Premier League games, becoming the last team in England’s top four divisions to score their opening goal of the season in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland. Villa have complained about the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, their need to be compliant impacting their summer business, but as Benge notes, Emery is struggling to get strong performances out of his group of mainstays.
The Europa League may offer a reprieve for Emery’s battered-and-bruised tactical approach, recent history suggesting that this competition can be a redeeming aspect of an up-and-down season. Last season’s champions Tottenham Hotspur did just that while finishing 17th in the Premier League, their Europa League-winning manager Ange Postecoglou now back in the competition with Nottingham Forest. Postecoglou’s new side, the oddsmakers’ second choice to win the whole thing, are winless in three games to start his tenure and while a trip to Betis technically offers a chance to correct course, it may be easier said than done for a team who swapped an ultra-defensive manager for a very attack-minded one.
EFL Cup third round action wraps up on Wednesday with Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United hoping to join their fellow heavy-hitters by booking their spots in the next round.
Liverpool and Chelsea each collected 2-1 wins against lower-league opponents on Tuesday, though the matches came with their own complications. Hugo Ekitike nabbed the game-winning goal for the Reds against Southampton in the 85th minute but was sent off moments later, picking up a second yellow for celebrating by taking his shirt off and will now miss their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this weekend. The Blues, meanwhile, conceded first to League One side Lincoln City but rebounded with second half goals from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte.
Straightforward outings likely await the Premier League teams that will play on Wednesday, each of them matched up with League One sides to kick off their EFL Cup journeys. For City and manager Pep Guardiola in particular, Wednesday’s match at Huddersfield Town will offer a chance for a more relaxed tactical strategy after a tensely-contested 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, one in which Guardiola took an unusually conservative stylistic approach. The manager defended his choices in a press conference on Tuesday, arguing it was the defensive approach was necessary because City were second-best against the Gunners.
🌎 A 64 team World Cup?: During a meeting in New York on Tuesday, officials from CONMEBOL formally pitched FIFA on the idea of a 64 team World Cup to celebrate the tournament’s centennial in 2030, though it remains unlikely to happen.
⚪ Vinicius Junior scores: Vinicius Junior opened the scoring in Real Madrid’s 4-1 win at Levante on Tuesday, proving his worth after he was benched for the team’s Champions League win over Marseille last week.
🇺🇳 UN experts ask for Israel ban: A group of United Nations called upon FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel, describing the action as a “necessary response to address the ongoing genocide in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” during the Israel-Hamas War.
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