PSG/Aston Villa – Opponents preview: Emery has built a fine side

This Wednesday, August 12, Paris Saint-Germain (Champions League winners) take on Aston Villa (Europa League winners) at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg(kick-off at 9pm, live on Canal+) in the 2026 UEFA Super Cup. And as before every match, here is a presentation of the Parisians’ opponent.

Aston Villa’s situation –

A major club in football history, Aston Villa went through difficult periods and had to fight their way back to the Premier League at the end of the 2018-2019 season. That came one year after the takeover by investors Nasser Sawiris and Wes Edens, after they had missed promotion in the play-offs.

The rebuilding has been particularly successful, with relatively modest transfer windows by this league’s standards (€100 million spent each summer). It took time, and there was even a very worrying spell during the 2022-2023 season, with Aston Villa in the relegation battle. But in October, coach Unai Emery replaced Steven Gerrard. The Spaniard led a very impressive turnaround.

That was enough to secure 4th place at the end of the 2023-2024 season and qualify for the Champions League, where they lost to PSG in the quarter-finals. The Villans have now found consistency near the top of the Premier League. 4th again last season, Aston Villa would have qualified for the Champions League even without winning the Europa League. That also earned them the right to play this UEFA Super Cup against PSG.

The summer 2026 transfer window –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

Main statistics –

During the 2025-2026 season, Aston Villa had the 7th-best attack in the league with 56 goals scored (leaders Manchester City had 77, while bottom side Wolverhampton had 27), and the 5th-best defense with 49 goals conceded (Arsenal had the best defense with 27 goals conceded, while bottom side Burnley had 75).

In the Premier League, the top scorer for the Villans was Ollie Watkins (a 30-year-old striker) and with 16 goals he ranked 4th in the league (Erling Haaland was first with 27 goals). Lucas Digne (a 33-year-old left-back) and Morgan Rodgers (a 23-year-old attacking midfielder/winger) were the English club’s top assist providers with 6 assists, placing them among the joint 9th-best in the Premier League (Bruno Fernandes was first with 21 assists).

Aston Villa’s 6 friendlies –

Only the Villans’ possession is listed, and Aston Villa’s shots are given first (when the data is available).

21/07/2026 (friendly) – Walsall/Aston Villa: 0-5. In a 4-2-3-1.

25/07/2026 (friendly) – Porto/Aston Villa: 2-1. In a 4-2-3-1.

28/07/2026 (friendly) – Aston Villa/Real Sociedad: 2-4. In a 4-2-3-1.

01/08/2026 (friendly) – Indonesia XI/Aston Villa: 1-3. In a 4-2-3-1.

04/08/2026 (friendly) – Pathum United/Aston Villa: 1-3. In a 4-2-3-1.

07/08/2026 (friendly) – Aston Villa/Bayern Munich: 1-2. In a 4-4-2. 44% possession. 8 shots to 16.

The squad:

Unavailable – Bailey, Manzambi, Onana (injury), Watkins, Martinez, Konsa (returning to fitness).

Probable lineup in a 4-2-3-1:

Abraham

Garnacho – Buendia – McGinn

Gomes – Kamara

Maatsen – Torres – Lindelöf – Cash

Bizot

Substitutes: Wright, Asemota, Cissé, Rowe, Barkley, Bogarde, Nedeljkovic, Alysson, Guessand, Madjo.

Aston Villa’s playing style.

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are not afraid to play high up the pitch and try to hurt opponents when they win the ball back. The idea is not especially to dominate possession, but rather to move quickly in order to create chances. In particular by going through the middle and attacking in behind. Be careful, though: the Villans also know how to adapt and defend deeper in order to counterattack. It is difficult to know exactly what the approach will be here, with neither team at 100%. There could be strong and weak spells on both sides.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.