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Super-fit Groningen will provide Aston Villa with their toughest pre-season test yet, warns their manager Erwin van de Looi.

The claret and blues take on the Dutch outfit on Saturday evening and their opponents are fired up for the friendly.

Last week Groningen’s Europa League adventure was ended by Aberdeen so they are expected to name their strongest side for the game.

And with six weeks of training already under their belts, they are eager to put on a good show.

“Because we lost against Aberdeen we will now be able to play with our best team,” said van de Looi.

“We are confident of giving Villa a good game. We have had a very busy summer training.

“We started on June 22 and already played four games before our first leg against Aberdeen.

“These matches were against semi-pros from Holland and Germany and we won all the games.”

That winning run came to an end against Aberdeen.

Villa, too, lost their 100-per-cent pre-season record in midweek after the defeat to Chesterfield.

It was a game where boss Paul Lambert was forced to name a host of youngsters as his first-teamers were still recovering from the long trip to the United States.

A much stronger team is expected to be named on Saturday with the likes of Darren Bent, Ashley Westwood and Gabby Agbonlahor all back in the reckoning.

Having swotted up on Villa, van de Looi knows all about their threats but insists his players are up for the challenge.

“I’ve seen Aston Villa play and I was at the game last season in their home match against Swansea at Villa Park,” he said.

“It was a good experience. They have a strong squad, in which we know the Dutch players very well.

“But because of our good finish last season and the fact that most players are still in the squad we hope to give them a good game.”

Groningen and Villa share some similarities in recent years.

They have both been forced to get some of the big earners off the wage bill and have also been unable to hold on to their top performers in the past.

Teenage star Richairo Zivkovic joined Ajax this summer while goalkeeper Marco Bizot moved on, too.

Stars to look out for include Filip Kostic, Tjarron Chery and Eric Botteghin, who were all major key players as Groningen made it into the Europa League last season.

On Wednesday night Lambert admitted that the game at Chesterfield was one he ideally would have not played given the hectic schedule.

He is looking forward to the clash on Saturday, though.

“There will be a stronger squad for this game, that’s for sure,” said Lambert.

“Some of the lads who played against Chesterfield have travelled, as have the ones who stayed at home.

“It will be a stronger team.

“Then we’ve got Walsall and Parma so as these games start to come we will get stronger, too.”