Unai Emery’s Aston Villa will play either Scottish Premiership side Hibernian or FC Luzern of Switzerland for their Europa Conference League play-off encounters.
The draw took place on Monday afternoon, which signalled the start of Aston Villa’s return to Europe for the first time since 2010, as posted by Villa’s official Twitter account.
In three days, Hibernian, who are managed by former Bristol City boss Lee Johnson, will lock horns with FC Luzern at Easter Road – that will be the first-leg encounter, with the return leg set to be played on August 17.
The winner of that tie will then play Aston Villa – the Midlands outfit have been drawn away from home for the first leg, which takes place on August 24, with the return leg at Villa Park on August 31.
Whichever team Villa are pitted against, you would expect the boys in Claret and Blue to qualify. You can see the details of the tie below:
The John McGinn derby
Given that Hibs are a British side, then that’s the tie the Villa fans would want, but it’s not the only reason they will be hoping they see past FC Luzern.
A certain John McGinn will be centre stage if Johnson’s men progress because Villa purchased their now-captain from Hibernian back in 2018.
The Scotland International has proven to be an outstanding buy for the club. Helping the team earn promotion to the Premier League and now leading them into Europe.
He is also fondly remembered by the Hibs fans and you would imagine he will get quite the welcome at Easter Road.
But with Hibernian making a pretty poor start to the new season, you can’t guarantee that they will see past the Swiss outfit, or if Johnson will be in the dugout by the end of the month because there is huge pressure on his shoulders.
