Aston Villa host Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park on Tuesday looking to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Nuno Mendes scored in the 92nd minute to make the task even more tricky, as Villa now need to come back from two goals down as opposed to one.
Morgan Rogers stunned the Parc des Princes crowd by opening the scoring for Villa in the 35th minute. The lead didn’t last long though, Désiré Doué’s 20-yard curling drive leaving Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez helpless.
PSG displayed a masterclass from there on in and it was no surprise when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave PSG the lead four minutes after the half-time break.
Had the game remained at 2-1, then Villa’s job on Tuesday would have been easier. As it was, their late concession means they will have take the game to PSG at Villa Park.
ASTON VILLA VS PSG PREVIEW
Villa had the perfect preparation going into this game, defeating Southampton 3-0 in the Premier League.
Goals from Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen and John McGinn late in the second half were enough to give Villa the win. This was despite Marco Asensio missing two second-half penalties too.
The victory was Villa’s fourth in a row in the Premier League as they look to qualify for the Champions League places. They currently sit in seventh, only one point off Manchester City in fifth.
PSG, meanwhile, did not play at the weekend and thus will be fresher going into this game. They have already won the French league and so can fully focus on the Champions League.
The stats make difficult reading, but Villa can feel heartened by their home record. They have only lost once in 17 games at Villa Park in all competitions. They have also scored two goals or more in seven of their last eight games there.
PSG aren’t infallible either. They have been dumped out of the Champions League knockout stages on three occasions out of the last seven when entering the second leg with at least a two-goal lead.
Aston Villa have pretty much a fully-fit squad, with only Leon Bailey being a doubt. He may feature from the bench.
PSG are at full strength too, suggesting a competitive clash ahead.
ASTON VILLA VS PSG – PREDICTIONS
Aston Villa Win
Aston Villa have an exceptionally strong home record, having only lost once at Villa Park in 17 games in all competitions. They score freely too, while they are at full strength for this tie. Their passionate home support will undoubtedly be a factor too.
Draw
Villa are certainly capable of scoring, but with the need to attack, they could leave themselves vulnerable at the back. PSG are no slouches when it comes to finding the back of the net, so an entertaining draw could be on the cards.
PSG Win
The French side will want to put the tie to bed early and one goal will almost certainly do it. PSG are looking for their 17th straight away win in all competitions. Ousmane Dembele has contributed to 42 goals in his 41 games and is challenging for the Ballon d’Or. He’ll want to stake his claim further here.
ASTON VILLA VS PSG – BETTING TIPS
Draw
Villa have home advantage and their passionate crowd will undoubtedly get behind them. They will need to attack, leaving themselves open to counter-attacks from PSG. The French side certainly have the offensive talent. I therefore suspect an entertaining draw with both teams scoring is on the cards.
Both Teams To Score
Villa have scored two or more goals in all but one of their last eight games at Villa Park. PSG have scored 80 goals in Ligue 1 this season and netted three times last week in the first leg. Villa netted three times at the weekend against Southampton. Four different PSG players have been directly involved in five or more goals in the Champions League this season. They are Ousmane Dembélé (9), Achraf Hakimi (6), Bradley Barcola (6) and Désiré Doué (5). All of this points to goals.
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND KEY STATS
- Last week’s clash was the first meeting between the two sides, which PSG won 3-1.
- Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been victorious in just two of his 11 games against Luis Enrique as a manager (D1 L8). Both wins have come in home fixtures.
- Under Emery, Villa have lost three of their four games against French sides in European competition.
- Aston Villa have been eliminated from European competition on both of the last two occasions when they have gone into the second leg with a deficit of two or more goals.
- Aston Villa have only lost once in their last 17 matches at Villa Park in all competitions.
- Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four games at Villa Park.
- Aston Villa have scored two goals or more in seven of their last eight at Villa Park.
- PSG have won 16 matches in a row away from home in all competitions.
