Aston Villa have announced two more pre-season friendlies that we’ll play this summer in addition to our USA tour in July.
Having finished last season in positive fashion by securing qualification for the Europa Conference League, it promises to be a busy summer both on and off the pitch as we prepare for the new campaign.
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Unai Emery and the club hierarchy will undoubtedly already be planning how to strengthen the squad in the transfer window, but we must also ensure the squad is fully prepared and in top condition for the start of the new season in August.
Villa will play in the qualifying playoff round of the ECL to secure a place in the group stage in early August, and so it’s imperative that the pre-season schedule is locked in and that the players will be fully fit for the start of competitive action.
The club announced in April that we’d be travelling to the USA in July to take part in the Premier League’s Summer Series, where we’ll play Newcastle Utd, Fulham and Brentford over the course of a week.
That will form the main part of our pre-season plan with the training camp likely to run prior to, and alongside, that across the pond, while the club have now confirmed two more games that will be played either side.
As per Villa’s statement, we’ll face Walsall before travelling Stateside, and we’ll then face Lazio at the Bescot Stadium shortly after our return in a good test for the players against a side set to participate in the Champions League next season.
That will hopefully get us ready for the Europa Conference League and allow us to gain valuable experience against a top European side, and now time will tell if there is more still to be added to the schedule in the coming weeks or if Emery is happy with the fixture list as it stands.
Aston Villa 2023 pre-season schedule so far [local times]:
July 15: Walsall [A] – 1pm
July 23: Newcastle Utd [Philadelphia] – 7pm
July 26: Fulham [Orlando] – 7pm
July 30: Brentford [Maryland] – 12pm
August 3: Lazio [Bescot Stadium] – 7.30pm