Aston Villa make their first Champions League appearance since the competition’s rebranding when they travel to Switzerland to face Young Boys on Tuesday.
The Villans secured Champions League qualification last season after pipping Tottenham Hotspur to fourth spot and will reap the benefits this term by playing in their first top-flight European campaign since 1983.
Unai Emery’s side have made a positive if slightly unconvincing start to the Premier League season with three victories from their opening four clashes – all by a single goal. They will be strong favourites for their journey to Switzerland on Tuesday.
Young Boys reached the Champions League after beating Galatasaray over two legs in qualifying but they currently sit rock bottom of the Swiss Super League after three draws and as many losses in their opening six encounters.
Here is 90min’s guide to Aston Villa’s first clash back in the Champions League.
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Stadium: Wankdorf Stadium
Date: Tuesday 17 September
Kick-off Time: 17:45 BST / 12:45 ET / 09:45 PT
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
VAR: Willy Delajod (FRA)
Young Boys vs Aston Villa H2H Record
This is the first competitive fixture between Young Boys and Aston Villa.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Young Boys |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Vevey United 2-4 Young Boys – 14/09/24 |
Aston Villa 3-2 Everton – 14/09/24 |
|
Young Boys 1-1 Lausanne – 31/08/24 |
Leicester 1-2 Aston Villa – 31/08/24 |
|
Galatasaray 0-1 Young Boys – 27/08/24 |
Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal – 24/08/24 |
|
Young Boys 3-2 Galatasaray – 21/08/24 |
West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa – 17/08/24 |
|
Yverdon 2-2 Young Boys – 10/08/24 |
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Aston Villa – 10/08/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 1, discovery+, discovery+ App |
|
United States |
Paramount+, ViX, CBS Sports Golazo |
|
Canada |
DAZN |
Young Boys are struggling for form and with injuries at present, with Patrick Rahmen’s squad a little light for Villa’s visit.
Facinet Conte is out for the season and Abdu Conte, Saidy Janko and Patric Pfeiffer will miss out midweek. Lukasz Lakomy is likely to be absent as well, while Loris Benito has now returned to training after a long layoff.
Villa’s defence will need to keep a close eye on Silvere Ganvoula on Tuesday, with the 28-year-old striker leading the goalscoring charts for Young Boys with three strikes in four Swiss Super League games.
Young Boys predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Keller; Blum, Zoukrou, Husic, Hadjam; Niasse, Lauper; Virginius, Ugrinic, Colley; Ganvoula.
Emery has his own injury concerns to deal with and is missing the likes of Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash and Leon Bailey for the trip across Europe. Robin Olsen is also a significant doubt with a head injury and Amadou Onana was withdrawn at half-time against Everton at the weekend.
Ollie Watkins rediscovered his 2023/24 form against Everton on Saturday with a brace but his deputy Jhon Duran is knocking on the door for a start after another fantastic strike at the weekend.
Youngster Lamar Bogarde was used at right-back again in Villa’s victory over the Toffees with Cash sidelined and he may retain his spot for a Champions League debut.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Young Boys (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Barkley, Tielemans; Philogene, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.
Villa have made a bright start to the season but have shown their vulnerabilities at the back in the opening weeks of the new campaign. They are yet to keep a clean sheet, most recently conceding to struggling Leicester City and twice to bottom-of-the-table Everton.
However, given Young Boys’ disappointing form and injury problems, Villa should have no problems securing victory on their return to Europe’s top table. They have plenty of continental experience after last season’s Europa Conference League journey and have strengthened their squad over the summer period.
Expect an entertaining and potentially high-scoring affair in the Swiss capital.
Prediction: Young Boys 1-3 Aston Villa
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