Feyenoord v Aston Villa: Line-ups, stats and preview
The lowdown on Feyenoord v Aston Villa
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Feyenoord v Aston Villa match preview
Aston Villa return to the scene of the most memorable night in their history when they visit Feyenoord’s De Kuip on Matchday 2 of the 2025/26 Europa League on Thursday.
Under manager Tony Barton, Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 courtesy of Peter Withe’s second-half goal to win the European Cup – now the Champions League – on May 26 1982.
Villa have never played Feyenoord before and face opponents who have taken 19 points from their first 21 in this season’s Eredivisie to top the table, although they lost their European opener 1-0 at Portuguese club Braga.
“We’re progressively getting better and our structure is getting stronger,” Villans manager Unai Emery said after his players followed up a 1-0 home win over Bologna with a 3-1 victory over Fulham in the Premier League at Villa Park on Sunday.
“The players have to feel comfortable [with] it [by] scoring goals, playing minutes and getting good results. It’s the way we have to try to build the team again.”
Home manager Robin van Persie will be familiar to Villa fans, having scored eight times and produced two assists against them in 12 meetings in all competitions while playing for Arsenal and Manchester United between 2004 and 2014, losing only once.
Van Persie took over at Feyenoord in February but a defeat at Fenerbahce ended their hopes of reaching this season’s Champions League.
The 42-year-old praised his players’ spirit and determination after their 1-0 win at Groningen on Sunday, putting the 1969/70 European champions three points clear of second-placed PSV in the Netherlands.
“We must be able to deal with any type of opponent,” Van Persie told ESPN afterwards, adding that his target is the Dutch title.
“We missed chances… that is an area to capitalise on. But when you see how the players kept fighting for each other until the last minute, that is beautiful to see.”
Feyenoord v Aston Villa team news
Van Persie said the diagnosis for Malcolm Jeng “doesn’t look good” after the Reims loanee was substituted at half-time against Groningen.
Fellow defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe required treatment on a knock later in the game, with Van Persie expecting the issue to prove “not that bad”.
Left-winger Noam Emeran has been out since August with a hamstring injury but Ayase Ueda continued his excellent start to the season with the 50th-minute winner and is the Eredivisie top scorer with six goals.
Netherlands midfielder Quinten Timber will miss out with a minor foot injury, while central defenders Gernot Trauner and Thomas Beelen and midfielder Jakub Moder are sidelined.
South Korea midfielder Hwang In-beom could start after returning from the bench against Groningen following a calf injury.
Midfielders Amadou Onana (thigh), Youri Tielemans (foot) and Ross Barkley (fitness) are doubts for Villa.
Captain John McGinn said he considered coming off at half-time after taking a “whack” against Fulham but the Scotland midfielder was hopeful he would be “fine” to play against Feyenoord.
Centre-back Tyrone Mings was replaced by Pau Torres in the 32nd minute with an ankle problem.
Feyenoord v Aston Villa predicted line-ups
Feyenoord starting XI: Timon Wellenreuther, Bart Nieuwkoop, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Hwang In-beom, Gijs Smal, Goncalo Borges, Oussama Targhalline, Sem Steijn, Aymen Sliti, Gaoussou Diarra, Casper Tengstedt
Aston Villa starting XI: Marco Bizot, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen, Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Evann Guessand, Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Buendia, Donyell Malen
How to watch Feyenoord v Villa: TV channel, online live streams
The match kicks off at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT) on Thursday and is being shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 3.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Feyenoord v Villa stats
- In the last 8 Feyenoord home matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Feyenoord have won the last 4 home matches in a row while scoring less than 2.5 goals
- Feyenoord have won the last 3 home matches in a row and the sum of goals was under 2.5
- Feyenoord have won the last 4 home matches in a row and the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In the last 3 Feyenoord home matches the sum of goals was under 2.5
- In 7 of the last 8 Aston Villa matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 7 of the last 8 Aston Villa matches in the Europa League, the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 6 of the last 8 Aston Villa matches the sum of goals was under 2.5
- In the last 3 Aston Villa matches in the Europa League, the sum of goals was under 2.5
- In 4 of the last 5 Aston Villa away matches the sum of goals was under 2.5
Feyenoord v Villa prediction
Feyenoord will hope for a transformation of their performance at Braga, where they finished on an expected goals total of 0.27 and had one attempt on target.
Their perfect record in four home matches in all competitions this season suggests they will be markedly improved and that may be a necessity against a Villa side with five wins in their last six European matches, only losing at reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain in April.
Three of Villa’s four away games in all competitions this season have been drawn after 90 minutes, while Feyenoord have averaged under two goals a game at home.
With that in mind, back a 1-1 draw. Villa are next in European action at Go Ahead Eagles on October 23, when Feyenoord host Panathinaikos.