03/19/26 04:45:00
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03/19 04:43 CDT Aston Villa defending 1-0 lead over Lille in Europa League
round of 16
Aston Villa defending 1-0 lead over Lille in Europa League round of 16
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) --- Aston Villa stands a good chance of advancing to
the quarterfinals of a European competition for the third straight year.
The Premier League side needs to protect a 1-0 advantage from Lille in the
return leg of the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday at Villa Park.
Coach Unai Emery was cautious. "It's very important this result but it's not
enough," he said.
Two years ago, Villa and Lille met in the Conference League quarterfinals and
Emery's side advanced on penalties. Last season, Villa was eliminated in the
Champions League quarterfinals by eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain.
Another English club, Nottingham Forest, faces a tougher task in Denmark after
a 1-0 home defeat to Midtjylland last week.
Boss Vtor Pereira is expected to rest some of his stars ahead of a Premier
League game against Tottenham, with both clubs placed just above the relegation
zone.
An all-Italian derby between Roma and Bologna is all square at 1-1 ahead of the
second leg in Rome.
Lyon, the winner of the league phase, faces Celta Vigo after a 1-1 draw. Porto
has to defend a 2-1 advantage against Stuttgart.
Another Bundesliga side, Freiburg, trails host Genk 1-0 and Real Betis is a
goal down against visiting Panathinaikos.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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