In-form Aston Villa will be chasing their third straight win when they face Viking in the Champions League. After following up a 6-0 win over Fenerbahce with a 1-0 win away to Newcastle Untied, Villa are seeking their third straight win in all competitions.
They welcome a Viking team that has already shown that they are not easy to beat, after drawing 3-3 with Bayern Munich in the previous Champions League round.
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Joan Laporta’s plan to convince Erling Haaland
Villa Park | Champions League League Phase 3 | Referee: Sebastian Gishamer
📋 Starting lineups
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Cash, Lindelöf, Pau Torres, Mings; Kamara, Barkley; McGinn, Mbaye, Buendía; Jackson
Aston Villa substitutes: Bizot, Wright, Cash, Harwood-Bellis, Kamara, Garnacho, Abraham, Maatsen, Bogarde, Goretzka, Hemmings.
Viking (4-4-2): Østbø; Heggheim, Falchener, Stensness, K. Haugen; Tripić, Askildsen, Bell, Bjørdal; Botheim, Christiansen
Viking substitutes: Belko, Vevatne, Postema, Bjørdal, Bassey, Cosic, Fuglestad, Auklend, Falchener, Kvia-Egeskog, K. Haugen, Jansen.
🔑 Important points before the match
Villa are chasing three straight wins, but the injury situation is serious
Aston Villa have won their first two games in the Champions League (3-2 away to Club Brugge, 6-0 at home to Fenerbahçe), and are currently chasing their third straight win. But Unai Emery’s defence is badly affected: left-backs Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri are both out, and right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also injured for three to four weeks. Johan Manzambi, who scored against Newcastle, is also unavailable due to injury. To compensate, Villa have registered Taylor Harwood-Bellis in the Champions League squad.
Viking comes with confidence after a draw against Bayern
The Norwegian club drew 3-3 at home against Bayern Munich last round, and has thus taken their first point in Champions League history. In the Eliteserien, Viking is the best team at set-pieces with 16 goals, and Pål Fjelde, Villa’s Norwegian set-piece coach and former Viking player, warns about this in particular.
Nicolas Jackson in great form
The Senegalese has scored in both Champions League games, totalling three goals, and is Villa’s most dangerous attacker.
Tripić is Viking’s key player
Zlatko Tripić has been involved in three of Viking’s four Champions League goals this season (one goal, two assists), and is the team’s main creative force.
📊 Key statistics
- This is the first time the teams have met.
- Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last 14 European home games, with 11 straight wins.
- Viking have scored in their last 10 European matches.
- Aston Villa have scored in 22 of their last 23 European matches.
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