Aston Villa face one of the toughest challenges in European football tonight when they visit Catalonia to take on Barcelona.
The two-time defending Spanish champions endured a small blip with defeats to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain recently but looked back to their swashbuckling best in hammering Alaves 6-1 at the weekend.
Villa boss Unai Emery has unhappy memories of Camp Nou. The last time he took a side there for a Champions League knockout tie, his Paris Saint-Germain team threw away a 4-0 first-leg lead and lost 6-1 in what became known as La Remontada.
Villa have won all three of their Champions League games, beating Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe and Viking, and they sit second in the league-phase table with nine points. Their best result of the season came in the Premier League, where they beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park last week.
Saturday night’s draw with Fulham was a frustrating one, though, and Emery will want a quick reaction.
BARCELONA TEAM NEWS
Barcelona’s defensive injury crisis continues. Andreas Christensen, Jules Koundé, Eric García and Xavi Espart are all out, along with Dani Olmo and Roony Bardghji.
Barcelona: Garcia, Farinas, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo, Rodri, Pedri, Yamal, Lopez, Gordon, Raphinha
Barcelona Substitutes: Szczesny, Livakovic, Balde, Gavi, Jesus, Adeyemi, De Jong, Bernal, Abdelkarim, Goren, Victor, Campos
ASTON VILLA TEAM NEWS
Villa are without Aaron Wan-Bissaka (thigh), Amadou Onana (knee) and Matteo Ruggeri (hamstring).
Aston Villa: Suzuki, Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen, McGinn, Kamara, Gomes, Manzambi, Buendia, Jackson
Aston Villa Substitutes: Bizot, Wright, Harwood-Bellis, Mings, Barkley, Garnacho, Abraham, Mbaye, Goretzka, Alysson, Hemmings
Where to Watch Barcelona v Aston Villa: TV and online streams
Barcelona versus Aston Villa kicks off at 8pm GMT (9pm local time) on Tuesday, November 3 at Camp Nou.
In the UK, the game is being shown on TNT Sports and streamed on the HBO Max app. In the US, the game is on Paramount+ at 3pm ET.
If you live outside the UK or the US, click the LINK HERE to find out where to watch it in your region.
Recent Form & Stats for Barcelona v Aston Villa
- This is the sides’ fifth fixture. Barcelona won 4-3 on aggregate in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup quarter-final (2-2 a, 2-1 h) before Villa lifted the 1982 UEFA Super Cup 3-1 on aggregate (0-1 a, 3-0 h).
- A 7-2 win against Newcastle United in last season’s round of 16 second leg (8-3 aggregate)was only Barcelona’s second in their last seven matches versus Premier League opposition (D2 L3). Those three defeats are as many as they had suffered in their previous 25 contests with English clubs (W16 D6).
- However, Barça have lost only two of their 38 home matches against English visitors (W23 D13), both against Liverpool – 0-1 in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup semi-final first leg (1-2 aggregate) and 1-2 in the 2006/07 Champions League round of 16 (2-2 agg, lost on away goals).
- Barcelona are unbeaten in 15 home matches against English opposition (W10 D5), since that 1-2 defeat by Liverpool in 2007.
- This is Villa’s first European Cup match against Spanish opposition.
- Villa have won only one of their eight away matches in Spain (D3 L4), 1-0 at Celta in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup second round first leg – a tie they lost 2-3 on aggregate.
- The English club have lost their last three matches against Spanish sides; this is their first fixture since going down 0-1 away and 1-2 at home to Celta in the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup semi-finals.
You Should Also Read
