Rotation looks likely against Zrinjski, as a result, Unai Emery may hand an Aston Villa to Filip Marschall, with Robin Olsen potentially out, but who is he?
Tonight, Aston Villa travel to Bosnia to face Zrinjski Mostar in the final group game of the Europa Conference League.
With qualification to the next round already secured, Unai Emery may opt to heavily rotate his squad after a heavy week of fixtures.
Following wins over Manchester City and Arsenal, Villa have moved up to third place in the Premier League and a firmly in the Champions League spots.
Now their attentions will turn to the continent as they look to secure at least a point and achieve first place in their group. With that being said, Emery may start a youngster and hand him his debut…
Who is Filip Marschall?
Filip Marschall could potentially be in line for his Villa debut tonight with Emi Martinez likely to be rested. After missing out on the last two matchday squads, Robin Olsen may miss out again.
At 20-years old, the former England youth international has spent time out on loan with Gateshead in recent years. In two spells with the now National League outfit, the shot-stopper has impressed.
He kept eight clean sheets in 20 appearances to help keep them in the league in his first spell with The Head. In Marschall’s second spell with the club after he helped them win the National League North title in the 2021/22 season. Marschall has another trophy on his CV as he was part of the Villa side that won the FA Youth Cup at Villa Park in 2021.
He signed a new deal with Villa in August 2022 such was the club’s commitment to the goalkeeper and his future.
This season he has made three appearances for the Under 21s side in the EFL Trophy. He has contributed to one win. The other two ended in close-fought, high-scoring defeats. He has been on the bench for the first team in 11 fixtures so far this season, but it might be time for his first start.
Olsen missed out against Manchester City and Arsenal in the last week and as a result, may miss out against Zrinjski. This may pose the perfect opportunity for Marschall to make his debut for the Villans.
Given that progress to the next round is already guaranteed for the Villans, handing a debut to a youngster makes sense.
