Villa turn to Ginola

The Aston Villa manager, John Gregory, has promised David Ginola a place in the starting line-up for tonight's Intertoto Cup semi-final second leg match against Rennes at Villa Park.

Villa must overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg and Gregory believes Ginola is just the man to turn the tie around. "In Ginola we have a match winner," Gregory said. "He can turn games."

Villa will be without the midfielder Ian Taylor, who may require a knee operation, and their new goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel is still doubtful with a calf problem.

Newcastle entertain 1860 Munich in their semi-final with a 3-2 lead, but face the prospect of being without their England midfielder Kieron Dyer for longer than expected. The 22-year-old, who has been recovering from a stress fracture of the shin for the last six months, broke down in training on Monday and his comeback is expected to be delayed by a few more weeks.