Aston Villa are set to face off Barcelona in Camp Nou on Tuesday for matchday four in the Champions League.

Aston Villa are heading to the Catalan region this midweek for the next Champions League fixture. They are taking on Barcelona, one of the favorites this season, in their attempt to continue their positive form lately. 

Unai Emery’s side has been unbeaten since the Nottingham Forest defeat in September and would hope to secure another three points or at least avoid defeat in Camp Nou. It definitely would be an easy task as the home side would not let themselves slump to another defeat. 

Raphinha and Co have just bounced back on their winning ways last weekend after two tough losses versus the top team, PSG and their archrival, Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Villa stumbled at home in an unexpected draw versus Fulham. 

In the head-to-head record, Villa lost twice in four encounters and managed to win once and held the Catalan giant in a draw once. Their previous meetings were in UEFA Cup 1978 with Johan Cruyff in the squad and UEFA Super Cup 1982, which was held in January 1983.                                                                                     

Team News

Ahead of this clash both sides would not be able to use all the players in the squad. Barcelona have been reportedly without a number of players at the backline. The likes of Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Andres Christensen are ruled out, although the last one might be returning to the bench. Then, Dani Olmo, Ronny Bardghji and Marc Casado would not be available as well. 

Meanwhile, Villa are still without Amadou Onana, Aaron Wan Bissaka, and Matteo Ruggeri. Thus, Emery could be opting to employ certain tactics to exploit Barcelona’s high intense pressing. PSG’s and Real Madrid’s victory over Hans Flick’s men could be used as a notable reference. 

In the starting IX, Zion Suzuki is expected to be in their flawless best form here, supported by Pau Torres and Victor Lindelof at the backline. Matty Cash and Ian Maatsen will be operating on both flanks. 

In the midfield, Villa would be a midfielder with physical and defensive prowess to win the ball against Barcelona’s dominant second line. The likes of Boubacar Kamara is bound to be back with Joao Gomes and Ross Barkley as the deeper central midfielder while John McGinn and Johan Manzambi are deployed on both wings to support Nicolas Jackson upfront. In the second half, Emi Buendia, Ibrahim Mbaye and Leon Goretzka could be prepared to make difference after the interval, especially when they need to find the back of the net. 

Where to watch Barcelona v Aston Villa at UK

The clash between The Villans and Blaugrana will be available on TNT Sports 1 or TNT Sports Ultimate as well as live streaming. The fans can also enjoy this match on discovery+ app.