Red Bull Salzburg come visiting Aston Villa in search of a playoff spot, while the hosts are already guaranteed a top-eight finish.

Unai Emery will be delighted with some of the recent results on board across all fronts, but there has been some disappointment over at Aston Villa owing to key injuries ahead of the visit of Red Bull Salzburg. The Birmingham giants found themselves even closer to league leaders Arsenal following their victory away at Newcastle United.

Goals from Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins in either half secured the three points, which left Emery’s side four points adrift of Arsenal, who lost at home to Manchester United. That victory was also the first at St James Park since April 2005, and another positive record in the Spanish manager’s book.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa all but ensured their place in the Europa League top eight courtesy of a tough away victory against Fenerbahce. That game was also Emery’s 100th in charge in the competition, and now, they will want to keep hold of their current spot, which is second in the standings. A victory on the last matchday does open the door for a first-placed finish should Lyon struggle to win their game and Aston Villa wins theirs.

Thomas Letsch has a big task on his hands, as his RB Salzburg side are close to being eliminated from yet another European competition at the first hurdle. They have suffered a similar fate in each of the last three seasons, albeit in the Champions League, but a fourth successive one is still very much on the cards.

They did boost their hopes of a playoff berth with a stellar victory over FC Basel in the most recent matchday, but they remain two points behind Celtic, who occupy the final playoff spot at the moment. A win will certainly be the main target for Letsch ahead of taking his team to Villa Park, but only a victory and results elsewhere going their way will ensure the Austrian giants progress to the playoff round.

Team News & Tactics

Aston Villa

Emery will rue the injuries suffered by his key stars over the last few weeks. First, it was the serious injury to Boubacar Kamara that will see the midfielder miss the remainder of the campaign, and now Youri Tielemans suffered an ankle issue over the weekend.

John McGinn is also out for a considerable period with a knee issue of his own, while Ross Barkley is yet to be back from his. Aston Villa have responded in the transfer market, as they are now closing in on signing former star Douglas Luiz on loan from Juventus, but there are question marks about whether that alone would be enough to sustain the season.

On to the upcoming game, given that Aston Villa are not in any real danger of dropping out of the top eight, Emery could potentially afford to rest his key men and rotate the pack. A host of fringe players might feature from the start, including goalkeeper Marco Bizot, Andres Garcia, Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings, as well as Lucas Digne.

Lamare Bogarde might enter the frame to play in midfield, while Emery could use teenager George Hemmings in the midfield. Evan Guessand could also feature in the final third alongside recent returnee Leon Bailey and winger Jadon Sancho.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Bizot; Garcia, Lindelof, Mings, Digne; Bogarde, Onana, Hemmings; Bailey, Guessand, Sancho

RB Salzburg

Letsch will be without some of his key players ahead of this visit to Birmingham. Salzburg have to cope without midfielder Takumu Kawamura and centre-back John Melllber. Add the recent fracture that Stefan Lainer suffered in his metacarpal to the equation, as he will miss out. There are further doubts with Bryan Okoh, still to be assessed, as he recently returned from an Achilles tendon issue.

Letsch might keep hold of teenage winger Kerim Alajbegovic for this clash, following his brace against Basel in the most recent Europa League outing. Edmund Baidoo and Petar Ratkovic will be part of the front three for Salzburg moving ahead, with the latter the team’s top scorer this season with 12 strikes to his name.

There could also be a place for former Brentford star Mads Bidstrup in the midfield setup alongside Sota Kitano and Soumaila Diabate. Young duo Joane Gadou and Jannik Schuster will continue in the heart of the defence.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Schlager; Trummer, Gadou, Schuster, Kratzig; Kitano, Diabate, Bidstrup; Baidoo, Ratkov, Alajbegovic

Key Stats

• Aston Villa will face Red Bull Salzburg for the very first time.
• Aston Villa have won 19 of their 22 games at home across all competitions this season.
• Salzburg sits 2 points behind 24th-placed Celtic in the standings.
• Salzburg have failed to win any of their last 8 European games against English opposition.

Player to Watch

Lamare Bogarde

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The Aston Villa utility man could be staring at a good opportunity to ensure he is a great asset to the team in the coming period. Amid injuries to key stars like Tielemans, Kamara and McGinn, Bogarde could expect a lot more game time than simply being an option on the bench to close games.

His versatility will come in handy for Emery in the next many weeks, as regular game time, particularly from the start, could help improve Bogarde’s overall game. For now, he will start against Salzburg, as a top-notch display here will help him in a big way to cement a starting spot for the team across all fronts moving ahead.

Prediction

Aston Villa 2-1 Red Bull Salzburg

Salzburg are the team entering the final matchday under severe pressure to get into a playoff spot, as they face second-placed Aston Villa to get over the line. The pressure comes not only from their need to win but also from the hope that their close rivals above them in the standings have a bad day at the office.

Aston Villa will be able to bring on fresh legs and rest their key men ahead of the weekend, but that could play a role in securing a win. From a quality standpoint, Villa are likely to get a victory on Thursday, in the hope that Lyon drops points and Emery’s side secure top spot to end the group phase.