Ajax v Aston Villa Europa Conference League injury news as 7 ruled out and 3 doubtful

Aston Villa face AFC Ajax at the Johan Cryuff Arena in the first leg of their Round of 16 fixture in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The match will be broadcast on TNT Sport and kicks off at 5.45 pm (GMT).

The two sides clash for the first time since October 23, 2008 when they played in the UEFA Cup. Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry were on target for the Villains that day whilst former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen scored for the Dutch.

In the build-up to this fixture, Villa won 3-2 against Luton Town in the Premier League thanks to an 89th minute winner from Lucas Digne. Ollie Watkins gave Unai Emery's men a two goal lead but that was cancelled out by Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris, but Digne restored the lead and the Hatters could not find a response.

The result meant three straight wins for Villa and they are strengthening their grip on a top four spot, boasting a five-point lead over Spurs who have a game in hand. As for Ajax, they defeated Utrecht a day later on Sunday, winning thanks to efforts from Brian Bobbey and Kenneth Taylor but Devyne Rensch was sent off. Ajax are now fifth in the league and are four points off a European place.

Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of the match on Thursday.

Aston Villa team news

Jacob Ramsey will need to be further assessed after suffering a foot injury. He lasted just 29 minutes against Luton before needing to be brought off, and this season Ramsey has had his fair share of foot injuries, having suffered a serious one whilst on international duty last summer.

Diego Carlos suffered a hamstring injury in training prior to their game against Fulham and has missed the last three games. He is training on his own but isn't likely to make a return to the pitch just yet. Jhon Duran is in a similar position to Carlos, having been out of action since the end of January, though he could return at the weekend potentially.

Boubacar Kamara is out for the season after undergoing surgery last month. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Manchester United and won't be back until the winter. Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia suffered ACL injuries back in August and despite both making positive strides in their recovery, are unlikely to play this season.

Out: Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos, Emiliano Buendia, Jhon Duran. Tyrone Mings. Doubt: Jacob Ramsey.

Ajax team news

Former Spurs winger Steven Bergwijn is expected to miss out against playing against Villa. He hasn't played for the last four matches with a hamstring injury, and might not recover in time for this one. His record against Villa is three wins in four games, though the only time he has netted against them was in the 2-1 defeat back in the 2020/21 season.

Centre-back Josip Sutalo suffered a training ground injury last week and likely won't play. He was subject of transfer interest from Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, but he instead made a £20m move to Amsterdam.

Right-back Anton Gaaei has missed the last few matches having been afforded a rest by head coach John van 't Schip. Gaaei was substituted in the first-half of the last match that he played in and was described as 'tired' mentally, and so he's not been in contention for the last few games.

Steven Berghuis a 46-cap international for the Dutch national team is a doubt too. He's been important for Ajax with 17 goal contributions this term but might not play a part.

Out: Steven Bergwijn and Josip Sutalo. Doubt: Anton Gaaei and Steven Berghuis.