Wednesday evening’s UEFA Champions League fixtures will see two sides go head-to-head in the competition for the first time since they faced off in the competition’s final.
Rather surprisingly that game will be between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, with the teams having faced off against one another way back in the 1982 European Cup final.
Even more surprisingly, Aston Villa won that final thanks to a goal from Peter Withe.
So can they beat the Bavarian giants again? And if so, how?
Here’s the three key battles Unai Emery’s side need to win in order to secure another famous victory over Bayern.
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With nine goals and four assists to his name in just six games in all competitions, it’s fair to say that defenders haven’t had much joy against Harry Kane so far in 2024/25.
The next defender tasked with stopping Kane from getting on the scoresheet will be Aston Villa’s Pau Torres. The talented Spaniard is one of the better centre-backs in the Premier League, but will need plenty of help from Villa’s midfield to combat Kane’s ability to drop deep and link up play.
As well as stopping Kane, Villa’s defence will also be tasked with another in-form ex-Premier League player – winger Michael Olise.
The former Crystal Palace star has taken his game to another level following his £50m move, racking up five goals and two assists in all competitions.
Digne, who is keeping Ian Maatsen out of the Villa side, will likely be the man tasked with stopping Olise on Wednesday evening, and he’ll be hoping his experience and guile will be enough to quell the hugely talented wide player.
Wednesday’s game won’t just be about stopping Bayern Munich’s attackers as, in front of a raucous Villa Park, Unai Emery’s men will fancy their chances of causing the Bavarians some problems too.
The main man who’ll be expected to cause those problems will be Ollie Watkins.
Having been made the focal point of Emery’s tactical set-up at Villa when he took the reins in November 2022, Watkins hasn’t looked back – bagging 45 goals and 20 assists in 86 appearances to date under the Spaniard’s watch.
Watkins heads into the clash with Bayern on a particularly hot streak of form, having scored four and assisted three in his last seven appearances. Kim Min-jae, the likely partner to Dayot Upamecano at centre-back, will need to be on high alert to stop Watkins’ clever runs in behind.
