Many Aston Villa supporters believe Europa League will be the best avenue for the club to win silverware. After looking at the draw, however, it should be increasingly clear that this European competition will be far from easy.
The home UEL fixtures will be against Young Boys, Salzburg, Tel-Aviv, and Bologna. On paper, these matchups should be relatively straightforward for Villa to be able to pick up wins from.
The away fixtures, though, present a different type of challenge for Villa to face. Unai Emery's men will travel to Feyenoord, Fenerbahçe, Go Ahead Eagles, and Basel.
Although the Süper Lig side have moved on from José Mourinho following their Champions League exit, the Turkish club will still have plenty of quality in their squad and could pose problems for Villa. The player who will be highlighted will be Jhon Durán. Villa fans know all too well as to how good Durán can be in the attack.
Having spent the past season in Champions League, Feyenoord will also be a difficult opponent under the guidance of Robin van Persie. The Eredivisie side is a quality team in this competition and could realistically be in the tournament until the end.
Long path ahead for Aston Villa in Europa League
To have Villa having to go away against two of the tougher opponents in Europa League makes the potential path to the knockout phase that much more difficult than what it would need to be.
Villa certainly have a great chance to win UEL. As the draw should demonstrate, though, this is not a competition that Emery's side can simply walk through. For Villa to lift a trophy from this European competition, it will take the club's best efforts, particularly when looking at the type of opponents that Villa will have to travel to.