Aston Villa will hope their early-season blues are behind them as they make the trip to Feyenoord for their second Europa League outing.
Unai Emery’s side ended their wait for a first Premier League win of the season on the weekend, dispatching Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park as Ollie Watkins ended his goal drought.
It came three days after Villa notched their first victory of the campaign period, finding joy in Europe’s second-tier competition as Bologna fell to a slender defeat in the West Midlands.
Villa will hope to maintain this momentum as they clash with Robin Van Persie’s in-form Feyenoord, who currently sit atop the table in the Eredivisie, although they did lose their Europa League opener to Braga.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the clash.
When is Feyenoord vs Aston Villa?
Feyenoord’s clash with Aston Villa in the Europa League kicks off at 8pm BST on Thursday 2 October at De Kuip in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the UK can watch the match live on TNT Sports 3 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with coverage starting at 7:45pm BST. Subscribers can also watch the game on discovery+.
Team news
Van Persie will lean on Dutch internationals Quinten Timber and Sem Steihn to help overcome the challenge of Villa, as well as dangerous attackers Anis Hadj Moussa and Ayase Ueda, the latter being the Eredivisie’s top scorer with six goals. However, Feyenood were dealt a blow in their latest win away at Groningen, with Malcolm Jeng picking up an injury which required surgery. Gernot Trauner, Thomas Beelen and Jakub Moder are also absent .
For Villa, Emery may choose to keep Emi Martinez in between the sticks ahead of deputy Marco Bizot despite the fact the Dutchman kept a clean sheet against Bologna. Pau Torres will likely start with Tyrone Mings a major doubt, while John McGinn will face a race against time to shake off a knock picked up on the weekend. Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana have both been managing injuries.
Feyenoord XI: Wellenreuther; Read, Ahmedhodzic, Watanabe, Smal; Timber, Steijn, Valente; Hadj Moussa, Ueda, Sauer.
Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, McGinn; Guessand, Buendia, Rogers; Watkins.
