Sat 7th Nov - Villa Park
By Chris Burton Last updated: 2nd October 2008
O'Neill: Ready to ring the changes
Aston Villa have one foot in the group stages of the Uefa Cup ahead of their clash with Litex Lovech.
The Premier League outfit came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory in Bulgaria a fortnight ago, and will be confident of finishing the job off on home soil.
With vital away goals already in the bag, and a comprehensive defeat all that can prevent them from prolonging their European adventure, the Villans should be in for a comfortable night on Thursday.
Three consecutive victories in the English top flight have lifted them to third in the table, ensuring confidence will be high among Martin O'Neill's men.
O'Neill will also have the luxury of being able to rotate his squad for the Villa Park clash, allowing him to have a look at some of those on the fringes of his first-team squad.
However, Villa must guard against complacency and avoid slipping to an embarrassing first round exit.
They fell behind to the Bulgarian cup holders two weeks ago, through Ivelin Popov's free-kick, and will be keen to avoid a repeat of that situation this time around.
With so many changes expected to be made to their starting line-up it appears unlikely that those looking to make a positive impression on the manager would allow a commanding lead to slip through their fingers.
Having named the same starting XI for Villa's six Premier League fixtures so far, O'Neill is likely to hand James Milner, Brad Guzan, Craig Gardner, Carlos Cuellar, Zat Knight, Wayne Routledge, Isaiah Osbourne and Moustapha Salifou an opportunity to shine in Europe.
That will allow the Ulsterman to rest key men such as Brad Friedel, Luke Young, Martin Laursen, Curtis Davies, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
The game, though, does come too soon for Steve Sidwell, who is back in training following calf and knee problems but is not considered ready for action.
For Litex Lovech, French defender Cedric Cambon and full-back Mihail Venkov miss out as they are both suspended following their dismissals in the first leg.

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Burnley vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham |
| Tuesday 1st December | |
| Carling Cup | |
| 19:45 | Portsmouth vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Hull |
| Saturday 12th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Man Utd vs Aston Villa |
| Tuesday 15th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Sunderland vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 19th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Stoke |
| Sunday 27th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Arsenal vs Aston Villa |
| Tuesday 29th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Liverpool |
| Saturday 9th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Aston Villa |
| Sunday 17th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Aston Villa vs West Ham |
| Wednesday 27th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Aston Villa |
| Wednesday 10th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Man Utd |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Everton 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Tuesday 27th October | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Sunderland 0 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 24th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 17th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Monday 5th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 1 Man City | |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Blackburn 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Wednesday 23rd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Cardiff | |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Sunday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 30th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 0 Fulham | |
| Thursday 27th August | |
| Europa League Qualifying | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 1 Rapid Vienna | |
| Monday 24th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa | |
| Thursday 20th August | |
| Europa League Qualifying | |
| Rapid Vienna 1 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 15th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 2 Wigan | |
| Saturday 8th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Fiorentina | |
| Tuesday 4th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Oxford Utd 2 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 2nd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Juventus 0 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Friday 31st July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 1 FC Porto | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Manchester United | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 22 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 12 | 21 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 11 | 20 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 11 | 18 |
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