Key events
Ben Fisher
Unai Emery is not panicking. He may kick every ball on the touchline but, behind closed doors, Aston Villa’s players are used to him being the calmest person in the room, routinely more demanding after victory than defeat. John McGinn tells a story in which the Villa manager, early in his now almost four-year tenure, broke character and lost his cool during a half-time interval not owing to a lukewarm performance but because he witnessed his captain tearing into teammates. In Emery’s eyes, it was McGinn expending unnecessary energy rather than seeking solutions.
Emery, McGinn and Villa have been here before. Just last season, in fact; at this point, they were pointless in the Premier Leagueand still another 157 minutes from registering their first goal. So in one sense Villa, who shook off a slow start to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, are ahead of schedule. Villa’s goalless draw at Hull on Saturday was not the most absorbing display but there were enough green shoots to trust Emery when he says he is confident they can again exceed expectations.
Team news
Joao Gomes returns from suspension to replace Ross Barkley in the Villa midfield. That’s one of three changes to the side that drew 0-0 at Hull on Saturday. Pau Torres and Aaron Wan-Bissaka come in for Tyrone Mings and Matt E. Cash. That means the exciting teenager George Hemmings will make his Champions League debut.
Club Brugge (4-2-3-1) Sommer; Sabbe, Han-beom Lee, Mechele, Seys; Vetlesen, Potts; Carlos Forbs, Vanaken, Virgil; Tresoldi.
Subs: Jackers, Vanden Driessche, Tsawa, Vermant, Mike, Siquet, Coulibaly, Spileers, L Audoor, Diakhon, Vasovic, Lemarechal.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Suzuki; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Pau Torres, Maatsen; Joao Gomes, Kamara; McGinn, Buendia, Hemmings; Jackson.
Subs: Bizot, Wright, Mings, Barkley, Ruggeri, Garnacho, Abraham, Mbaye, Bogarde, Alysson.
Referee Sandro Scharer.
Preamble
The Champions League’s back, baby! A lot has changed since Paris Saint-Germain retained the giant trophy in May – not least at Villa Park. Aston Villa covered themselves in glory at the end of lsat season, qualifying for the Champions League on two fronts, but six of the XI that started their Europa League final victory over Freiburg have been pinched by other clubs.
No team can be de-spined without suffering the consequences, and Villa have had a tough start to the Premier League season: three games, one point, no goals. You’d expect Unai Emery to navigate the necessary transition, and we shouldn’t forget that Villa had an equally poor start last season. But for now the mood around the club might reasonably described as sub-optimal.
Villa start their Champions League in feckin Bruges, where they face the Belgian runners-up Club Brugge. Do they have to win? Of course they don’t haveta! But a victory – even a goal – would make everyone at Villa feel a bit better.
Kick off 5.45pm.