Aston Villa will compete for their first trophy of the new season on Wednesday when Unai Emery’s side face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.
The Europa League winners meet the Champions League holders at Stadion Salzburg, with several selection decisions still facing Emery after Villa completed their preparations with a 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Aston Villa injury news v PSG
Villa will definitely be without Amadou Onana, Johan Manzambi and Leon Bailey.
UEFA’s latest Super Cup preview lists Onana and Manzambi as unavailable with knee injuries, while Bailey is sidelined by a muscular problem.
There are also doubts over Emiliano Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins because of fitness, while John McGinn is being monitored following a knee problem.
Alejandro Garnacho is another doubt after suffering a facial injury during the 3-1 pre-season victory over BG Pathum United.
Boubacar Kamara, however, provided Emery with a major boost by starting against Bayern. João Gomes played alongside him and scored Villa’s goal, with ReadAstonVilla analysing how the £38million signing strengthened his case to start against PSG.
Aston Villa predicted line-up v PSG
UEFA currently predicts Villa will line up:
Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Maatsen; João Gomes, Kamara; McGinn, Buendía, Garnacho; Watkins.
Martínez’s fitness could therefore result in Marco Bizot starting in goal, while Gomes and Kamara look like the most natural midfield partnership with Onana absent.
Garnacho could make his competitive Villa debut if he recovers from his facial injury, while Watkins remains the leading candidate to start up front if passed fit.
PSG have fitness issues of their own. Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Achraf Hakimi and several other senior players are currently listed as doubts, having returned late following their World Cup involvement. ReadAstonVilla highlighted those fitness concerns after several PSG stars played only limited minutes against Manchester United.
How to watch Aston Villa v PSG
The UEFA Super Cup takes place on Wednesday, 12 August, with kick-off at 8pm BST at Stadion Salzburg in Austria. Aston Villa have confirmed the fixture details.
UK viewers will be able to watch the game live on TNT Sports 1, with streaming available through HBO Max.
Villa won the Super Cup on their only previous appearance, beating Barcelona 3-1 on aggregate in 1982/83. Wednesday now gives Emery’s side the chance to add another European trophy only three months after their Europa League triumph.
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