Early entry into the Lille penalty area by Villa but Youri Tielemans' touch is heavy.

Wataru Endo and Cody Gakpo play a slick one-two and it's passed through to Darwin Nunez just inside the box.

He almost nutmegs the defender but it's cut out just in time.

Teutonia Ottensen couldn’t do it. Neither could Leipzig. Nor Borussia Monchengladbach. Darmstadt had a crack to no avail. Bayern Munich too.

It was a no for Hacken, Heidenheim and Mainz. Molde, Cologne, Wolfsburg, Qarabag and Freiburg all failed. Sandhausen, Hoffenheim, Qarabag and Union Berlin didn’t manage it. Werder Bremen and Hacken didn’t succeed.

Borussia Dortmund, Paderborn, Stuttgart, Molde and Eintracht Frankfurt fell short. Bochum, Augsburg, Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach were not successful.

Darmstadt, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Heidenheim, Mainz and Cologne all had a second go without doing it. Qarabag had two more cracks and failed. Wolfsburg, Freiburg, Hoffenheim, Fortuna Dusseldorf and Union Berlin couldn’t manage it either.

Now it’s West Ham’s turn to have a go and try to become the first team to beat Bayer Leverkusen in any competition this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Stephen Warnock
Former England and Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

That would be the ideal goal. That would be the icing on the cake if he wins the Premier League as well.

I think the one he wants is the Premier League. The chance to win it in front of his fans and parade it around the city, they didn't get the chance to do that last time.

But he wants to win this trophy too.

We are under way in Liverpool, Birmingham and Leverkusen (and a few other places too).

Tom Gayle
BBC Radio 5 Live reporter at Villa Park

Villa Park is up for this. Great noise as the players walk out onto the turf.

A tifo is unveiled at the Holte End which reads 'Unai 1000' with the image of their head coach punching the air.

Image source, Reuters

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is among those in attendance at San Siro this evening.

He loves a big European night!

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp speaking to TNT Sports: "The boys have brought us where we are. We knew how we want to pay and can never be 100 per cent sure how it would play out and now we know pretty much everything about how we need to play.

"We need to be ready for the second-ball fights as well. We don't know 100 per cent and it is unlikely we face a compact block.

"In an ideal world, the best version of yourself, I think that would be a cool idea."

On his squad selection: "We had the situation that we had more players available and it is always clear, the quality of the squad.

"In these weeks now, we need to have fresh legs and also keep the rhythm at the same time.

"We want to be super aggressive and to do that we really need to go for them [Atalanta] and have players who have not played 500 games this season. I am very happy with the options on the bench."

Tom Gayle
BBC Radio 5 Live reporter at Villa Park

Early summer vibes here at Villa Park.

I arrived to the sounds of "Wonderwall" being played by the live band outside, and the smell of hot food filling the air.

Most supporters have left their coats at home, so lots of claret and blue short sleeves are on show.

Unai Emery's programme notes state how this game has "200%" of their attention, and how he, his players and their fans should "dream together", just like the club did 42 years ago when they lifted the European Cup.

The Times' Charlotte Duncker speaking on the Football News Show: "Aston Villa have been suffering a dip of form recently and I think a lot of that is down to key players missing through injury or suspension.

"I think there has been gaps in the middle for them and that has affected them defensively. They have been conceding more goals of late and maybe that is because the of the players Unai Emery has had to select but if you look at their record in Europe they have been quite consistent and I think they will be confident going into these two games.

"Lille are a really exciting attacking team to watch and I don't think they are gong to come to Villa Park and sit back and try and get a draw and beat them in the second leg. I think Villa have struggled in the first legs of these European ties but I think they are really gong to have to go out and try and put the task to bed."

(hopefully not Mo Salah...)

Image source, BBC Sport

At a time when football is growing more predictable, and wealth determines both the match-ups and the winners, stories such as Atalanta's remind us that well-run clubs can still have their say in European competition.

It was 2019 when Pep Guardiola famously said: "Playing Atalanta is like going to the dentist - it's really, really tough and we knew that it would be."

Holding Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in the group stage that season, Atalanta went on to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, narrowly losing out to Paris St-Germain. A few months later, they defeated Liverpool at Anfield.

Under Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta's brand of intoxicating football combined beauty with industry.

It galvanised the neutrals, inspired a generation of tacticians and gained a legion of new fans - all on a shoestring budget.

It is remarkable a team whose sole objective was once Serie A survival has evolved into seasoned challengers, and European competition regulars.

Read more on Atalanta here.

Image source, Getty Images

The Times' Charlotte Duncker speaking on the Football News Show: "I think when Emery arrived 18 months ago, Aston Villa were just put of the relegation zone on goal difference so if we look where they were then to where they are now, it is incredible and all credit has to go to Unai Emery.

"He has brought an identity into the team where every player knows exactly what their role is and what their job is and they tend to execute it to perfection."

Image source, Getty Images

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong says they will focus on this game before thinking about potentially winning their first ever Bundesliga title at the weekend.

"Our focus is clear, we're only thinking about the game against West Ham," says the former Celtic player.

"We want to give ourselves a good starting point for the second leg in London next week. It won't be easy because West Ham have a fantastic team, but these are exactly the games we look forward to. We want to test ourselves against top teams."

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa defender Pau Torres is confident in their bid to win the Europa Conference League and finish in the Champions League places in the Premier League.

"We have a really good squad and a really good team with enough players to play 100% in each game," said Torres.

"It's a really important week for us, this amazing game in Europe and we are going game to game. We are focused."

He played for current boss Unai Emery in the Villarreal team who won the Europa League in 2021.

Torres added: "Unai knows these competitions. He knows how to prepare for every game and we know exactly how the opponents are going to play."

Stephen Warnock
Former England and Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's so difficult to get the opportunity to stamp your authority on a team.

Fans want instant success.

You need to be able to build a culture and build something at a football club. These two managers have had the chance to do that.

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool's record at Anfield in the Europa League this season is impressive.

They have won every match at the ground and scored a total of 17 goals across four games, conceding only two.

Away from home, however, Jurgen Klopp's side lost twice in the group stages.

The second leg of this quarter-final tie will be played in Italy at the same time next week.

Image source, Getty Images