Aston Villa host Maccabi Tel Aviv in Europa League group clash

Aston Villa will host Maccabi Tel Aviv at Villa Park on Thursday night as Unai Emery’s side seek to recover in the Europa League after a 2-1 loss in their last group game. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. UK time. Villa, who have taken six points from three group matches, could move to the top of the table with a win, while Maccabi remain without a victory in the competition and need a result to revive their hopes of progressing.

Villa arrive on the back of a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Liverpool at the weekend, which followed domestic and European runs that had briefly steadied the club’s season. In the Europa League they beat Bologna and Feyenoord before the loss to Go Ahead Eagles. Maccabi have fared strongly in Israel, unbeaten in recent domestic fixtures and sitting near the top of their league, but they have collected only one point from three Europa League matches and have lost two of their three group games.

Team news is likely to influence Emery’s selection. Centre back Tyrone Mings is sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring injury and may not return before the end of the year, and several other players remain unavailable, including Emiliano Buendia, Youri...