Unai Emery will attempt to win the Super Cup for the first time when Aston Villa face Champions League winners Paris St-Germain on Wednesday in Salzburg. The Villa boss has lost three previous Super Cup finals, with Wednesday’s match at Red Bull Arena offering him a chance to end that run against his former club.
Emery’s losing streak in the competition
Emery has suffered Super Cup defeats by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea, the first two while in charge of Sevilla and the third on penalties with Villarreal in Dublin in 2021. He lost 5-4 in extra time to a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona in 2015, a year after Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to help Real Madrid win the trophy. Emery had already left for PSG by the time Sevilla lost the 2016 final to Real Madrid. Around 6,000 Villa fans are expected to travel to Salzburg for the game.
Emery said the match against PSG represented an opportunity, adding that a trophy could give the club a special moment. He acknowledged PSG were the favourites but said he was looking forward to testing his side against them. PSG midfielder Vitinha said the club remained hungry for trophies despite their recent success, though he noted their pre-season had been short. Defender Marquinhos said the competition remained important to the squad and that he personally wanted more from his career.
A different-looking Villa side
Wednesday’s game is a repeat of last season’s Champions League quarter-final between the two sides. Villa trailed 5-1 on aggregate before winning 3-2 on the night in Birmingham, eventually losing 5-4 overall, a result that stuck in the minds of PSG’s players. Vitinha said Villa had provided a difficult test, especially in the second half, and that PSG were conscious of how tough the challenge would be again.
Villa’s line-up in Austria is set to look different from that quarter-final 484 days earlier. Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans have been sold, while Amadou Onana is out injured until next year. Boubacar Kamara is in the squad but only just returning from a serious knee injury sustained in January. Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins have not travelled after playing at the World Cup, with Emery giving them a month off. As a result, only four of the starters from that quarter-final are expected to start for Villa, with five of that night’s substitutes also no longer at the club.
Villa captain John McGinn said a lot had changed during his eight years at the club, noting that interest from other teams was inevitable when signing top young talent. He said the club had a structure, standards and rules that had brought success. McGinn added that some had thought Villa had reached a ceiling a couple of seasons ago, but the club had proved them wrong.
