Aston Villa host PSG in the second leg of our Champions League quarter-final tie, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up.
In order to advance to the last four of the competition, Villa must overturn a 3-1 deficit after suffering defeat in Paris last week, and given the quality shown by our opponents in that encounter, it promises to be a difficult task to get the better of them on this occasion.
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Nevertheless, belief has been strong from the group since that result, and after Emery was able to rotate and rest key individuals in our win over Southampton last weekend, the expectation was that the Villa boss would make a number of important changes once again to go as full strength as possible.
We’re likely to see a much different approach from Villa in this meeting compared to the first leg given our need to score goals and get back into the tie, and while it’s hoped that leads to a more controlled and dominant performance, there is also the risk of playing into PSG’s hands given the technical ability and class that they have in midfield and attack.
As per the club’s post below though, Villa have made one change from the first leg, with Amadou Onana coming in to replace Jacob Ramsey.
That added physical presence will hopefully help us control and dominate the midfield battle more effectively, while it should offer Youri Tielemans more freedom with his creativity and quality in the attacking third.
It’s a strong bench once again too with Leon Bailey returning from injury to further bolster our squad depth, and so if needed, Emery has options at his disposal to change the game.
It promises to be a real uphill task for Villa, but it’s hoped that we can make a strong start, get that all-important first goal and put ourselves firmly back in the tie.
Your Aston Villa starting XI tonight 👇#AVLPSG #UCL pic.twitter.com/LYHaaacbIw
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 15, 2025
