What to look out for in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday

Fiorentina have earned their place in the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final, and on Thursday Olympiacos take on Aston Villa for the right to meet them in Athens on 29 May? The Greek side are in the box seat after winning 4-2 in Birmingham last week, but with Unai Emery in charge the English side have hope.

In this piece presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, we pick out some key talking points ahead of the remaining second leg. Remember: Every mission matters.

Second-leg fixtures

8 May
Club Brugge 1-1 Fiorentina (agg: 3-4)

9 May
Olympiacos vs Aston Villa (21:00 CET)

El Kaabi on fire

Hard to believe that this is Ayoub El Kaabi's first European campaign. The 30-year-old has spent a modestly successful career playing in his native Morocco, China and Saudi Arabia, plus a two-season spell at Hatayspor in Türkiye. He arrived at Olympiacos last summer and has not looked back – his Villa Park hat-trick in a 4-2 win took him to 30 goals in 45 club outings in 2023/24. He is the Europa Conference League's eight-goal joint-top scorer despite only transferring to the competition for the knockouts.

In Birmingham he showcased his assets – pace, power, movement and a clinical finish. Intelligence, too, spotting the frailties in an unfamiliar Villa back five struggling for cohesion and preying on them. Unai Emery is likely to shuffle his deck in Greece, restoring Pau Torres and perhaps even Diego Carlos to the heart of his defence. Villa need goals, but they also need to find a way of stopping El Kaabi and his lieutenants, Daniel Podence and Kostas Fortounis – easier said than done.

Martínez returns

Emi Martínez was sorely missed at Villa Park. Perhaps not so much for his goalkeeping in the traditional sense – there was not a great deal Robin Olsen could do with any of the goals – but for his leadership and distribution. The English side build right from the back and defend with a very high line, and both require familiarity, practice and lots of focus. "There's a lot of risk but, at the same time, there's reward as well," Ezri Konsa said of the tactic which will surely be to the fore in Piraeus.

In the first leg Podence, Fortounis and El Kaabi disrupted the supply lines, and Villa dropped deep – it is no accident that the English outfit's best spell either side of half-time coincided with them pushing high. Martínez, expected back from suspension and injury, will be crucial for coordinating it all, and for providing the last line of defence. "He's probably the world No1," Matty Cash said last week. And as we all know, the Argentinian loves a contest.

Where is the 2024 Europa Conference League final?

UEFA

The 2023/24 Europa Conference League season is set to conclude at the AEK Arena in Athens, Greece, on Wednesday 29 May.