The Dogues barking at the gates of Villa Park

Unai Emery is back at it. The man who probably has a Europa League trophy as a bedside lamp is once again dragging Aston Villa through the trenches of continental competition. After a surgical, if slightly tedious, 1-0 win in northern France, the Villans are sitting on a lead that feels as fragile as a house of cards in a Birmingham gale.

Villa currently occupies 4th place in the Premier League with 51 points, a stat that looks GREAT on paper until you realize they just got dismantled 3-1 by a Manchester United side that is basically a collection of expensive question marks. Emery’s men are reportedly "far from their best," which is a polite way of saying they’ve been playing with the urgency of a sloth on a Sunday afternoon.

Then we have Lille. The Dogues. Fifth in Ligue 1 with 44 points and a collective sense of "what could have been." They famously LACKED BITE in the first leg, treating the Villa penalty area like it was protected by an invisible electric fence. However, they finally found their teeth against Rennes last weekend in a 2-1 victory. If Jonathan David and company actually decide to show up at Villa Park, we might get a real match instead of a ninety-minute tactical coma.

Lille has to score. Villa has to remember they are actually a Champions League-tier team. Emery will likely deploy a defensive block so deep it’ll require a submarine to locate it, while the French side will throw everything at them—including the kitchen sink and probably a few stale baguettes. It will be frantic, it will be ugly, and it will be GLORIOUSLY stressful for the home fans.

Expect Villa to do just enough to survive, because that is simply the Emery way. He doesn't need to be pretty; he just needs to be in the next round.

Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Lille (Villa qualifies 2-1 on aggregate)