Preview: Aston Villa vs. Zrinjski Mostar - prediction, team news, lineups

While the Premier League side left Poland empty-handed last month, Zrinjski sensationally fought back to snatch an opening-day victory over AZ Alkmaar.

Match preview

Having thrashed Hibernian by an 8-0 aggregate scoreline in the playoff round, Aston Villa could have been forgiven for thinking that following West Ham's path to Europa Conference League glory would be easy, given their resources and the calibre of coach Unai Emery - a UEFA competition specialist.

However, Emery looked on aghast as Villa fell behind in the third minute of their opening Group E fixture against Legia Warsaw, and despite twice drawing themselves level - through goals from Jhon Duran and Lucas Digne - they were ultimately beaten by Ernest Muci's 51st-minute strike.

After losing the club's first European group stage game since 2008, Emery's men cannot afford to slip up again this week, as a tough double-header with Dutch high-flyers AZ is next up on the schedule.

Villa's Basque boss has focused on making Villa Park a fortress since taking the reins nearly a year ago, and his team still boast a flawless home record in the league this season, following a spectacular success at the weekend.

Consistently inconsistent, the Villans have now alternated losses with wins for their last seven matches, most recently crashing out of the EFL Cup to ailing Everton only a few days before cruising to a remarkable five-goal victory in the Premier League.

Helped by an Ollie Watkins hat-trick, Villa stuffed fellow top-six hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion 6-1 last time out, and their 11 games in all competitions this term have now yielded some 45 goals.

Thursday's visitors Zrinjski Mostar can hope to fight fire with fire when they arrive in England, though, as they have recently netted 12 in their last four matches.

The first Bosnian side to reach any UEFA competition group stage, Zrinjski fought back with indomitable spirit to overturn AZ's 3-0 half-time lead on the opening matchday, as Zvonimir Kozulj scored twice during a frantic 26-minute spell just after the break.

Going on to win 4-3 in front of their home fans in Mostar, Krunoslav Rendulic's side celebrated such a fine victory by then adding nine points to their domestic tally in the course of three games - most recently beating Igman 2-0 on Sunday, to move fourth in the table.

Therefore, the reigning champions of Bosnia-Herzegovina - who strode to the title by a 20-point margin - will travel to Birmingham in sparkling form and perhaps fancying their chances of causing an upset.

Aston Villa Europa Conference League form:

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Aston Villa form (all competitions):

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Zrinjski Mostar Europa Conference League form:

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Zrinjski Mostar form (all competitions):

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Team News

While Moussa Diaby and Boubacar Kamara should recover from knocks which saw them withdrawn against Brighton, Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey remains sidelined by a thigh strain and Alex Moreno is not set to return until after the international break.

Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia both face a long road to recovery, but Unai Emery still has several options to choose from as he undertakes some squad rotation - a West Midlands derby with Wolves awaits on Sunday.

Clement Lenglet, Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey are among several players in line for promotion to the hosts' starting lineup, while Jhon Duran could start up front, having scored in Villa's Conference League opener; in-form Ollie Watkins would therefore be deployed as a second-half substitute.

Meanwhile, Zrinjski's Croatian forward Tomislav Kis scored twice at the weekend and has now netted three times in his last two games. That strike-rate should earn him selection as the visitors' central striker, after being restricted to a cameo role against AZ; however, club captain Nemanja Bilbija is another strong contender.

Having scored his team's first and fourth goals in last month's heroic comeback, Zvonimir Kozulj should also be involved on Thursday, though it remains to be seen whether coach Krunoslav Rendulic sticks with his favoured attacking 4-3-3 formation.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Ramsey, McGinn, Zaniolo; Duran

Zrinjski Mostar possible starting lineup:

Maric; Corluka, Jakovljevic, Radic, Memija; Ivancic, Balic, Kozulj; Cuze, Kis, Ticinovic

We say: Aston Villa 3-1 Zrinjski Mostar

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