Aston Villa will kick off their Champions League campaign on Tuesday evening with a visit to Young Boys in Bern, marking their return to Europe’s premier club competition after a 41-year absence. This match will be the first competitive encounter between the two sides.
Aston Villa, having finished fourth in the Premier League last season and secured a place in the Champions League, are making their 11th appearance in the competition. Their previous stint was in the quarter-finals in 1983, following their European Cup win in 1982. Last season, under Unai Emery, Villa reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, finishing first in their group and defeating Ajax and Lille before losing to Olympiacos.
Young Boys vs. Aston Villa: Team Form & Head-to-Head
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Currently, Villa is performing well domestically, winning three of their first four Premier League games this season. They recently overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Everton 3-2, with Ollie Watkins scoring twice and Jhon Duran netting the winner. Despite their strong domestic form, Villa has struggled in European away matches, with only two wins in their last 11, including a heavy defeat in Greece last season.
Villa will be eager to secure a good start in their Champions League group, having faced Swiss teams only in the Intertoto Cup in the past. This is their third appearance in the Champions League.
Young Boys, meanwhile, are competing in the group stage for the fourth time in six years. They qualified this season by defeating Galatasaray in the playoffs. Last year, Young Boys finished third in their group, falling to Manchester City and RB Leipzig before being knocked out of the Europa League by Sporting Lisbon.
The Swiss champions have had a challenging start to the new Super League season, failing to win any of their first three games and sitting at the bottom of the table with just three points from 18. They did manage to avoid further embarrassment in the Swiss Cup by securing a late victory against third-tier Vevey-Sports.
Match Details
Match: Aston Villa @ Young Boys
Date & Time: Sep 17, 2024 at 5.45 pm UK
Stadium: Stadion Wankdorf (Bern)
Team News
Unai Emery, making his sixth appearance in the Champions League with a different team, will have most of his key players available, though Leon Bailey (hamstring) and Matty Cash (thigh) will miss out. Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are back in training but not yet fit to play, while Jaden Philogene is also working his way back to full fitness. Possible lineup changes could include full-backs Kosta Nedeljkovic and Ian Maatsen.
Ollie Watkins, who scored five goals in last season’s Europa Conference League, will lead the attack, with Jhon Duran, who has scored all three of his league goals this season as a substitute, providing support.
Young Boys’ forward Silvere Ganvoula has scored three of their seven league goals so far and will be competing for a starting spot with Cedric Itten, Darian Males, and Meschak Elia. Alan Virginius, a Lille loanee, was the hero in their playoff against Galatasaray, while Joel Monteiro is another attacking option for Young Boys. Their first-choice goalkeeper David von Ballmoos has recently returned from injury and will start in goal.
Possible Starting XI
Young Boys: Von Ballmoos; Blum, Camara, Zoukrou, Hadjam; Lauper, Niasse; Monteiro, Ugrinic, Colley; Ganvoula
Aston Villa: Martinez; Nedeljkovic, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Ramsey, Rogers; Watkins
