Villa fans pray for first Euro final since 1982

Some Villa fans have turned the trip into a holiday, staying in Athens ahead of the fixture

Aston Villa fans have gathered in Athens ahead of the second leg of the club's Europa Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos.

The club has "a mountain to climb" according to captain John McGinn, after its first-leg 2-4 loss, at Villa Park last Thursday.

If Villa manage to overturn the deficit, it would be the club's first European final since 1982.

Jane Bissell, who has followed Villa to every European away game this season, said: "We can do it. I swear I’ll get a Villa tattoo if we win."

Players and staff took part in a training session at Bodymoor Heath on Wednesday

Ms Bissell and friend Sam Steers have spent thousands of pounds trailing their team to games in Poland, Amsterdam, Bosnia, Croatia and Lille.

"Once every six weeks, I actually work 24 hours a day for a week, just to gain some extra cash to fund these Villa trips," Ms Steers said.

Matthew Moore said he hoped the team could still turn around the 2-0 deficit

Martin Garnham, who manages Athens Sports Bar, also happens to be a Villa supporter.

"We’ve had the Greek Lions supporters' club here for nearly coming on eight years," he said. "We've got quite a big Greek following.

"We also get tourists coming into town who are Villa fans. We show most of the games here at the bar."

He predicted a few "brave" Olympiacos fans may watch the game at the bar, but it would be "claret and blue all the way through".

Greek football fans congregating on Wednesday told the BBC they would support both Villa and the home team.

Panayiotis Samatas added it would be "double the pleasure if Villa go through".

The match kicks off at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus at 20:00 BST.

Regardless of the result, Villa fans will have European football next season