Aston Villa are searching for a second European semi-final in just three years as they face off against Bologna in their Europa League quarter-final second leg at Villa Park on Thursday night.
Villa hold a commanding 3-1 lead as we head into the second leg, with a goal from Ezri Konsa and a brace from Ollie Watkins cancelling out Jonathan Rowe's wondergoal in a competitive first leg at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium.
The winners of this fixture will face the winner of the tie between Nottingham Forest and Porto, with their quarter final finely poised at 1-1, following a bizarre own goal from Porto's Martim Fernandes.
Alongside their push to reach the last four of the Europa League, Unai Emery's side are also embroiled in a contest to finish in the top five of the Premier League, as they look to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for a second time in three seasons.
As per Article 63 of UEFA's regulations, players are suspended for the next competiton match after receiving three yellow cards (that did not result in a red card). However, all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals and are not carried forward to the semi-finals.
At present, five Villa players are in line for a potential suspension if they get booked tonight, after crossing that two card threshold earlier in the competition.
Influential talisman Morgan Rogers is among them, with the 23 year-old England regular arguably the most important player for Villa as they compete in the knockout stages of this competition.
Club captain John McGinn is also on the threshold, with his combative style of play making him a risky option.
First choice full back pairing Matty Cash and Lucas Digne are also both potentially on the chopping block, meaning that Lamare Bogarde and Ian Maatsen could be chosen for this second leg.
Swedish veteran centre back Viktor Lindelof is the final player who could face a suspension if booked on Thursday night, with the former Manchester United defender playing a significant number of games in this year's Europa League.
Despite branding talk of a semi final suspension as "a mistake", could Emery's team selection be influenced by players just one card from a suspension? The Spaniard says no.
"If I am answering you I make a mistake. We play tomorrow." the former PSG manager said when asked about potential suspensions in his pre-match press conference.
With Youri Tielemans trying his best not to laugh next to him, Emery continued: “We are not thinking about the semi-final, we think about tomorrow and we are going to play the best players tomorrow."
Aston Villa players in danger of suspension
- John McGinn
- Matty Cash
- Morgan Rogers
- Viktor Lindelof
- Lucas Digne
