This Wednesday, April 9, Paris Saint-Germain take on Aston Villa at the Parc des Princes (kick-off 9pm, CET) in the quarter-finals of the Champions League 2024-2025 (return on March 15). And, as before every match, here’s a preview of the Parisians’ opponents.
Aston Villa’s situation –
An important club in history, Aston Villa has gone through some complicated times and had to climb back up to the Premier League at the end of the 2018-2019 season. This was a year after the club was bought by investors Nasser Sawiris and Wes Edens, after missing out on the play-offs.
The rebuilding process continues (around 100 million euros spent during the mercato), with the aim of aiming high. It’s taken a long time, and there was even a very worrying moment in the 2022-2023 financial year, which put Aston Villa in the race to stay up. In October, coach Unai Emery replaced Steven Gerrard. The Spaniard has made a remarkable comeback.
By the end of the 2023-2024 season, Aston Villa were in 4th place, with a view to qualifying for the current Champions League. Today, the Villans are in 7th place in the Premier League and still in the race for Europe in this very tight league. They also have an FA Cup semi-final to play against Crystal Palace.
The 2024 summer mercato –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
The 2024/2025 winter mercato –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
Key statistics –
This season, Aston Villa have the 12th-best attack in the league with 46 goals scored (first-placed Liverpool are on 72, and last-placed Southampton are on 23), and have the 13th-best defence with 46 goals conceded (Liverpool have the best defence with 30 goals conceded, last-placed Southampton are on 74).
In the Champions League, the Villans’ top scorers are Marco Asensio (29-year-old attacking midfielder) and Morgan Rogers (22-year-old striker), and with 3 goals, they are among the 32nd in the competition (the first is Raphinha at FC Barcelona with 11 goals). Olie Watkins (24-year-old attacking midfielder) is the English club’s best passer with 4 assists, and is 6th in the Champions League (Davide Zappacosta, Charles De Ketelaere, Julian Brandt, Raphinha and Achraf Hakimi are first with 5 assists).
Last 5 Aston Villa matches –
Only Villans possession is shown and Aston Villa shots are put first (when data is available).
08/03/2025 (Ligue 1) – Brentford/Aston Villa: 0-1. In 4-2-3-1. 40% possession. 12 shots including 4 on target vs. 13 shots (3 on target).
12/03/2025 (Champions League) – Aston Villa/Club Brugge (10 men at the 16th minute, 0-0): 3-0. In 4-2-3-1. 54% possession. 14 shots, 10 on target vs. 4 shots (1 on target).
30/03/2025 (FA Cup) – Preston North End/Aston Villa: 0-3. 4-2-3-1. 72% possession. 16 shots, including 7 on target, against 4 shots (1 on target).
02/04/2025 (Premier League) – Brighton/Aston Villa: 0-3. 4-2-3-1. 44% possession. 8 shots, including 5 on target, against 11 shots (4 on target).
05/04/2025 (Premier League) – Aston Villa/Nottingham Forest: 2-1. In 4-2-3-1. 53% possession. 17 shots including 8 on target vs. 19 shots (3 on target).
The team according to the press in 4-2-3-1 (L’Equipe):
Rashford
Ramsey – McGinn – Rogers
Tielemans – Kamara
Digne – Mings – Konsa – Cash
Martinez.
Aston Villa’s style of play.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa don’t hesitate to play high up the pitch and try to hurt when they get the ball. It’s not a question of having possession in particular, but rather of moving quickly to create chances. In particular, by passing through the middle and deep. However, the Villans know how to adapt and defend lower down to counter-attack. PSG know they have to be careful in transition.
