Aston Villa

The Midlands club welcome their Austrian opponents to Villa Park with the tie level at 1-1 from the first leg.

Last week MacDonald fielded a side which was a mix of youth and fringe players as he looked to rest some of his big names ahead of last Sunday’s match with Newcastle.

The likes of Barry Bannan, Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Hogg and Marc Albrighton all made rare European appearances for Villa, with the likes of Curtis Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker making up the rest of the team.

MacDonald’s side did well that night and he could be tempted into sticking with a similar side for the return leg at Villa Park after being let down so badly by his first choice 11 at the weekend.

Villa were outclassed for the majority of Sunday’s game at Newcastle, eventually losing 6-0 as the Toon took full advantage of a back four who looked to be in disarray.

MacDonald can call on James Collins and Carlos Cuellar for Thursday’s game after both players were declared fit and may do so with Richard Dunne, Luke Young and Stephen Warnock all unavailable.

The defensive duo could be joined by Gabriel Agbonlahor in the starting XI for the game after he was declared fit following his goal scoring return to action in a behind closed doors game against Burton Albion earlier this week.

MacDonald admits he isn’t sure whether to keep faith with the youngsters who served him so well last week or whether he should recall some of his big guns as he looks to avoid a repeat of last year’s exit at the hands of Rapid.

“I’ve thought about throwing more of the youngsters in,” he said.

“They performed very well in a very hostile atmosphere (in Vienna).

“I’ve also thought about playing a few more of the senior players. But whatever team I put out, the big point for us is that we actually qualify and get through the tie.

“Whether it’s youngsters, whether it’s seniors, that is the most important thing.”

Twelve months ago Villa (22/1 – Europa League outright) defeated Rapid Vienna (500/1) 2-1 at home but were eliminated on the away goals rule.

Rapid Vienna (10/3 to qualify) went on to win just one of their group stage matches as they crashed out at the first hurdle and they will be keen to make amends.

The Austrian side have been on a roll of late domestically, following up their victories over Stum Graz and Red Bull Salzburg with a victory over Mattersburg at the weekend.

Peter Pacult’s side might have lost star striker Nikica Jelavic to Rangers but they are still tough to beat on the road, losing just two of their last 12 matches away from home.

MacDonald will be all too aware of the threat Vienna pose and knows he needs a good win to have any chance of taking the Villa manager’s job permanently.

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Roy Hodgson

Hodgson is currently preparing for his first game in charge of the Reds – a pre-season friendly against Al-Hilal in Switzerland on Saturday evening – and, just a few weeks into his new job, says the search for new players to improve the squad is about to be stepped up.

Liverpool have been linked with a whole host of players so far this summer, including the likes of Paraguay ace Victor Caceres, Fulham defender Brede Hangeland and even former Everton forward James Beattie, but Hodgson has said the club’s fans should not believe everything they read in the papers or on the internet.

Among the former Fulham boss’ most-important tasks, however, before he can add new talent to his squad, is persuading star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres that the future is bright at Anfield. So far Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) has been the only first-team departure since the end of the season, but Emiliano Insua (Napoli) and David Ngog (West Brom on loan) could be the next players to leave.

Hodgson is prepared to give all of his youthful squad a chance to impress out in Switzerland before he begins to chop and change before the start of the new season, which kicks off with a tough encounter at home to Arsenal on August 15 (Liverpool to win 3-0 – 20/1).

“We are working very hard on making certain the players we have at the club who you would call the ‘good players’ are going to be with us for next season,” Hodgson told the club’s website.

“The board are working very hard in that area. Some players are a bit disenchanted after what happened last season and we want to make sure we get that enchantment back.

“We are looking to add to and improve the squad, but I prefer not to talk or say what we are doing until we have something concrete to announce.”

It is obvious that Hodgson needs to sign several players, most notably in defence and attack, ahead of the new season but he is well aware some of the names doing the rounds in the media are way off his list of targets.

“We are being linked with players left, right and centre and it amuses me that we are sometimes linked with players we haven’t even heard of,” he added.

“I have great faith in the Liverpool public that they will see through the snippets of information they may read in the newspapers, take it with a pinch of salt and wait for an official announcement.”

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