Unai Emery leaving it late before selecting Aston Villa team for Legia Warsaw

The boss was due to meet with his squad this morning before deciding on a starting XI as he tries to strike a balance between fielding a team capable of winning the tie and managing workload.

Villa can win the group and jump to the last-16 of the competition – avoiding an extra play-off round against a team eliminated from the Europa League – if they beat their Polish visitors by two goals or more.

But while aware of the importance of the tie and keen to select his strongest team, Emery is wary of the strain placed on players during a hectic period which sees Villa also face Premier League matches with Bournemouth, Manchester City and Arsenal in the next 10 days.

“We are going to play a lot of matches and we have to be clinical in how we take minutes,” he explained. “Some players are coming back from injury, some may feel a little bit tired after the effort on Sunday (at Tottenham). In the morning we are going to meet in the hotel and I will decide how we are.

"We know tomorrow is very important for us. We want to finish first in the group and we have to win. It is not changing my idea about the players we are going to use tomorrow. I believe and I trust in our players and I want to find performances playing with all of them. I am going to decide, trying to work out a balance in the starting XI.”

Nicolo Zaniolo is available again after missing Sunday’s win at Tottenham with a minor injury, while Emery hinted Boubacar Kamara will start as he is suspended for the weekend trip to Bournemouth.

“We are in contact with the doctors and physios and with the players about how we can manage it, thinking also of the plan for the next week,” said Emery. “But the pure thing is to try and play tomorrow with a strong starting XI because we have to do it.”