Unai Emery is confident Aston Villa have the necessary options to cope without midfielder Amadou Onana for Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest. The Belgium international has been ruled out with a calf problem sustained during the first leg at the City Ground.
Emery's Confidence in Squad Depth
Speaking ahead of the crucial match, Emery expressed his belief in the squad's ability to adapt. "I'm confident," he said. "Of course, when we have every player available I can have more options. In case we didn't have Boubacar Kamara we were working with other players and performing. At other times of the season we had Amadou Onana injured and were performing. We had sometimes out Youri Tielemans and even John McGinn. We got overall our performance. Tomorrow I am confident with the players we have available. In midfield we can play with different choices. I am confident."
Boost from McGinn's Return
Emery has been boosted by the return of captain John McGinn to training after he missed Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham with a tight hamstring. However, the absence of record £50 million signing Onana leaves the Villa manager with a selection dilemma for one of the club's biggest matches in decades. Youngster Lamare Bogarde has struggled while deputising for the 24-year-old in the past two Premier League matches, meaning Emery could turn to Douglas Luiz or even play McGinn in a deeper role.
Preparation for All Outcomes
Emery claims to have prepared for every eventuality, with Villa having practiced penalties in case the tie goes to a shoot-out. The Spaniard, a four-time Europa League winner, has won his last five semi-finals in the competition, with a defeat to Atletico Madrid when managing Valencia the only time he has lost a knockout tie. Thursday is his third attempt to reach a final with Villa, after losing in the Conference League and FA Cup semi-finals in each of the last two seasons.
No Failure Without Silverware
The club are also seeking to end a 30-year trophy drought, but Emery says not winning silverware would not represent failure. "It's not a defeat, in case we are not achieving one trophy," he said. "The objective always is keep going and keep going, improving, keep going, having opportunities in the future. We have now the opportunity, but only one team is winning, and when I was speaking before the match, the first leg, we have 25%, the possibility to get a trophy – now, maybe less, because we started losing. And we have 50% possibility, or maybe less, to play the final. This is football, and you must respect. You must respect every competition, and you must respect Europe, and you must respect each team."
