Lee Johnson has some personnel decisions to make ahead of tonight's second leg. Picture: Ross Parker / SNS GroupLee Johnson has some personnel decisions to make ahead of tonight's second leg. Picture: Ross Parker / SNS Group
Lee Johnson has some personnel decisions to make ahead of tonight's second leg. Picture: Ross Parker / SNS Group

How Hibs could line up against Luzern amid injury concerns and striker conundrum

Hibs are 90 minutes away from a money-spinning Europa Conference League play-off encounter against Aston Villa. Standing between them and a trip to Villa Park is a wounded Luzern, trailing 3-1 from the first leg but confident of turning the tie on its head.

Easter Road boss Lee Johnson has a handful of injury concerns and could make late calls on Élie Youan, Josh Campbell, and Jake Doyle-Hayes, all of whom travelled with the squad, but he won’t risk long-term damage to his players when selecting his team. Speaking ahead of the game he said: “If it’s a gamble it needs to be an educated gamble. You can't put the player at risk for the long term.”

Johnson is looking for a reaction to last weekend’s 2-1 defeat by Motherwell which he described as ‘pretty hurtful’, adding: “In a three-day period we have gone from showing absolute identity in the Luzern game to no identity at all.”

Here’s how Hibs could line up in Switzerland…