Belgian side Club Brugge has aspirations of winning the Europa Conference League this season but Aston Villa’s presence in the competition makes that difficult.
That’s according to journalist Marc Degryse, who says Aston Villa’s recent win over Arsenal did not go unnoticed by the Belgian side or anyone else with European ambitions.
Club Brugge take on Greek side PAOK in the second leg of their quarter-final clash today following a 1-0 win in the first leg last week.
They’ll be hoping to secure passage into the semi-finals of the competition with another win in Greece in what is likely to be a close-knit affair.
It’s a similar story for Aston Villa, who were 2-1 winners over French side Lille at Villa Park a week ago and are looking to secure progression to the last four with another win in France this evening.
They have something of a European expert at the helm in Unai Emery, who has been there and done it all in his career, winning the Europa League on three separate occasions with Sevilla and again with Villarreal in 2020/21.
That’s made Aston Villa a lot of people’s favourites for the Conference League and Degryse says that is very much the case as far as Brugge are concerned.
“It will be a serious test. But reaching the semi-final or final is possible, I think,” he said.
“They believe it is achievable to reach the final – it would give their chaotic season some colour after all. And in one game you can always beat someone, although I do think it will be difficult if it becomes Aston Villa. If you saw them play against Arsenal last weekend.”
