Unai Emery backing Aston Villa squad for 'must-win' Zrinjski Mostar clash

The boss is expected to tinker with his team despite the added pressure caused by last month’s 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw, when a Villa team featuring five changes stumbled out of the Group E blocks.

At least two changes against Bosnian champions Mostar will be enforced, with Boubacar Kamara and Moussa Diaby having failed to recover from the knocks they sustained late in Saturday’s 6-1 win over Brighton. Jacob Ramsey, who might have been handed a first start since returning from injury, will also be absent.

Yet Emery’s tone during Wednesday’s pre-match press conference suggested he had been planning on shaking things up regardless, with Villa’s head coach insisting the strength of his squad had not been shaken by the defeat in Warsaw or last week’s Carabao Cup exit to Everton, when several fringe players failed to grasp their chance.

Villa have won their last three Premier League matches with an unchanged starting XI but while Emery acknowledged the importance of winning Thursday’s match, to avoid falling into a hole early in the competition, managing the minutes of key players is clearly a major consideration too.

Asked if he would be more cautious about changes to the team, he replied: “No because we have to be competitive, playing with different players. We have to be ready to get our performances playing with a different set-up.

“We have to win and we must win but we must do it with some (regular) players and other players.

“I have to try and get the performances and try to win with Jhon Duran, Ollie Watkins, with John McGinn, (Nicolo) Zaniolo, Bertrand Traore and (Leander) Dendoncker. We have to use different players and get the demands we are going to face in each match.”

Duran, who has started Villa’s last four cup matches, appears almost certain to be in the team. Emery was more coy on whether Watkins, who has made no secret of his desire to play in every match possible, would be partnering the Colombia international up front. Much may depend on the availability of Leon Bailey, who trained yesterday but was due to undergo a late fitness test to determine whether he was ready to start.

“He (Watkins) is in the squad. Of course, he is available,” said Emery. “We will decide if he is in the starting XI because I want to try and manage the players, giving them chances.

“Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran, Zaniolo. With some players not available for tomorrow, I have to keep the balance for the starting XI, with the balance of the matches before and those after tomorrow.

“It is not rest. It is trying to keep a balance of playing, trying to manage the squad and other players. I am very happy with Ollie.

“But I want and will need other players taking minutes and taking confidence. One of them is Jhon Duran.”

Mostar, the first team from the Bosnian League to ever qualify for the group stages of a European competition, are very much Group E’s unknown quantity but gave a demonstration of their ability with a stunning fightback from 3-0 down to beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 in their opening fixture.

That result could help Villa in the long run but only if they take care of business themselves, starting on Thursday.

“We must win,” declared Emery. “The first match we played and we lost. It’s more important, as we lost the first opportunity, to get three points.

“We have to fight tomorrow, and against AZ Alkmaar and Legia again. We will need the points.

“It’s not to think playing under pressure, it’s thinking to play needing to play well and with personality and to impose our idea.”

He continued: “We have to be strong at Villa Park with our supporters and we have to try to push every opponent players to get our best performance at home and creating a very great atmosphere.

“This competition for us is going to be very, very important. After losing the first match, tomorrow is very important. Zrinjski beat Alkmaar and we have to be very respectful of them.”