Hibernian v Aston Villa - Europa Conference League Play Off Round First Leg

[Toronto Villa]

Zaniolo in line to make his debut tomorrow

[Hookeysmith]

Zaniolo in line to make his debut tomorrow

Can i ask where is that reported?

[Legion]

Pictures of him training now on Pravda FB.

[aldridgeboy]

The video of them winning the Scottish Cup (with SJM in the team) and them singing Sunshine on Leith is, to be fair, amazing.

I think a tight game up there , one goal in it, before we smash them in the home leg

[Axl Rose]

Come on Villa, annihilate them

[astonvilla82]

The thing about Emry and our squad is that there is no obvious starting line-up,

I'd not be surprised to see the 3421 we finished the game with on Sunday being used to control the game early on, then switching to the 4222 we play.

I wouldn't even put money on Unai letting SJM start the game.

He could do that where the opposition are short of players and let him play for Hibs

[RamboandBruno]

The video of them winning the Scottish Cup (with SJM in the team) and them singing Sunshine on Leith is, to be fair, amazing.

I think a tight game up there , one goal in it, before we smash them in the home leg

Thats great to be fair, do love that song as well.

[pablo_picasso]

Zaniolo in line to make his debut tomorrow

Can i ask where is that reported?

Birmingham Live have these quotes from Emery;

"Asked if Zaniolo could feature at Easter Road, Emery said:

"Hopefully yes I think so. Of course, we closed his signing on Friday, and on Saturday it was impossible to take his registration.

He is fit because he was training with his team and of course, we will need players helping us. He has experiences. He won the Conference League with Rome and we are happy with him."

So looks like he should be available.

[Nev]

The video of them winning the Scottish Cup (with SJM in the team) and them singing Sunshine on Leith is, to be fair, amazing.

I think a tight game up there , one goal in it, before we smash them in the home leg

Thats great to be fair, do love that song as well.

If the game had been on the Thursday we'd have been up there in the home end and it wouldn't have been a problem to sing along at all. It might be a problem not to join in if they sing it at our place.

[liam]

Don't think Emery has won a cup game with us has he..... Man u away in the League cup and Stevenage at home in the FA. I might be wrong, but think Gerrard was still in charge at Bolton.

[VILLA MOLE]

i forgot that jumped up little wally was their manager .  Plonker

[PeterWithesShin]

Boyhood Birmingham City fan Joe Newell admits he would love to help Hibernian stun Aston Villa and book a place in the Europa Conference League group stage.

The 30-year-old grew up in Tamworth and was a Blues season-ticket holder who used to cheer them on from the St Andrew’s stands in the Second City derby. Newell has close friends and family members – including his fiancée – who are Villa fans, adding a bit of extra spice to the Battle of Britain play-off round showdown for the midfielder.

“There’s one dodgy picture of me in a Villa top when I was four but I’m a Blues fan, always have been,” he said ahead of Wednesday’s qualifying play-off first leg at Easter Road. “There’s a lot more Villa where I’m from. My fiancée is Villa, my dad’s Blues, his brother is Villa. My best mate is diehard Villa.

“Listen, I’d love to beat them, don’t get me wrong. But whether it was Sunday at home to Raith in the cup or Villa at home on Wednesday, you go into each game trying to win. I won’t let that (being a Birmingham fan) get into my thinking too much.”

Newell has faced the Villans twice before in the Championship as a Rotherham United player in 2017 and 2019 but he knows the stakes are higher on this occasion considering the prize of European group-stage football for the winner. He also knows Villa, who finished seventh in the Premier League last term, are a far stronger proposition now than when he last encountered them.

“We probably couldn’t have got a harder draw but both legs will be very special,” said Newell, whose side have already eliminated Andorrans Inter d’Escaldes and Swiss side Luzern this summer. “No matter what the outcome, we’ve got to enjoy it, work hard and give a good account of ourselves.

“Some people would call us underdogs in the Luzern game but they were a top side and we scored five goals and got through.

“Villa are a massive club, their finances will be chalk and cheese compared to us, they’ve just put four past Everton at the weekend, so we know how hard it will be. But it’s football, it’s a sell-out at Easter Road and anything can happen.

“I’m really excited. We’re buzzing, the mood’s very good. We’ve got a lot of confidence and excitement going into the game. We know it’s obviously going to be a tough game against a top side, a massive club, but this is what you want to do, growing up you want to play in these games.

“The European games are a pleasure to play in. There were so many big games last year that we went into thinking about (the possibility of) these nights.

“We grafted so hard to make the top six and then to make the European places for this reason. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. We’ve got two more games to try and get into the group stages, which would obviously be amazing.”

[Nev]

Tamworth.

[astonvilla82]

Boyhood Birmingham City fan Joe Newell admits he would love to help Hibernian stun Aston Villa and book a place in the Europa Conference League group stage.

The 30-year-old grew up in Tamworth and was a Blues season-ticket holder who used to cheer them on from the St Andrew’s stands in the Second City derby. Newell has close friends and family members – including his fiancée – who are Villa fans, adding a bit of extra spice to the Battle of Britain play-off round showdown for the midfielder.

“There’s one dodgy picture of me in a Villa top when I was four but I’m a Blues fan, always have been,” he said ahead of Wednesday’s qualifying play-off first leg at Easter Road. “There’s a lot more Villa where I’m from. My fiancée is Villa, my dad’s Blues, his brother is Villa. My best mate is diehard Villa.

“Listen, I’d love to beat them, don’t get me wrong. But whether it was Sunday at home to Raith in the cup or Villa at home on Wednesday, you go into each game trying to win. I won’t let that (being a Birmingham fan) get into my thinking too much.”

Newell has faced the Villans twice before in the Championship as a Rotherham United player in 2017 and 2019 but he knows the stakes are higher on this occasion considering the prize of European group-stage football for the winner. He also knows Villa, who finished seventh in the Premier League last term, are a far stronger proposition now than when he last encountered them.

“We probably couldn’t have got a harder draw but both legs will be very special,” said Newell, whose side have already eliminated Andorrans Inter d’Escaldes and Swiss side Luzern this summer. “No matter what the outcome, we’ve got to enjoy it, work hard and give a good account of ourselves.

“Some people would call us underdogs in the Luzern game but they were a top side and we scored five goals and got through.

“Villa are a massive club, their finances will be chalk and cheese compared to us, they’ve just put four past Everton at the weekend, so we know how hard it will be. But it’s football, it’s a sell-out at Easter Road and anything can happen.

“I’m really excited. We’re buzzing, the mood’s very good. We’ve got a lot of confidence and excitement going into the game. We know it’s obviously going to be a tough game against a top side, a massive club, but this is what you want to do, growing up you want to play in these games.

“The European games are a pleasure to play in. There were so many big games last year that we went into thinking about (the possibility of) these nights.

“We grafted so hard to make the top six and then to make the European places for this reason. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. We’ve got two more games to try and get into the group stages, which would obviously be amaz

ing.”

you forgot to mention he's a Hibs ace

[Legion]

Hibernian v Aston Villa: Hosts urged to show 'individual brilliance' in upset bid - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66573659