Good evening from Piraeus
Welcome to SunSport’s live blog coverage of the crunch Europa Conference League semi-final between Olympiacos and Aston Villa at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. Kostas here, and I will be bringing you all the action from Piraeus.
This is it, Villa are visiting one of the hottest grounds in the world for what promises to be a dramatic return fixture after losing 4-2 in the first leg at Villa Park.
The Villans’ manager Unai Emery has been keeping his plans mostly secret and there hasn’t been much clarity regarding the club’s injury concerns.
Tyrone Mings (ligaments), Emi Buendia (ligaments), Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Jacob Ramsey (toe) are out for the rest of the season.
Reports from Argentina claim Emi Martinez will return between the sticks after overcoming a recent hamstring injury but there has been no official confirmation from Emery.
The Spanish tactician will have to make a late call on the fitness of Alex Moreno, Nicolo Zaniolo, Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans.
Olympiacos boss Jose Luis Mendilibar, on the other hand, has been rocked by a late injury concern at left-back.
Francisco Ortega looks set to miss his club’s historic match after suffering a sprain in the first leg in Birmingham.
Ortega’s back-up Omar Richards, who’s on loan from Nottingham Forest, is also dealing with an issue and thus Mendilibar may have to field right-back Quini on the left.
Nevertheless, the Spanish tactician will have Giorgos Masouras and Andreas Ntoi back from suspension.
