Football
Aston Villa Vs Bayern Munich Preview, Team News And Predicted Lineups As Unai Emery’s Side Welcome European Giants To Villa Park
Ben Horlock is a sports news and features writer who holds a degree in sports journalism (BA Hons) from Southampton Solent University. Ben has been published across a wide variety of news outlets and websites including HITC, 90min, GiveMeSport, Betfair and Zoo Magazine. As well, Ben has worked in social media for four years in the sports gambling industry. For his sins, Ben is a QPR fan and is a keen follower of all the major European football leagues.
Get to know Ben Horlock betterPublished01 Oct 2024
Here at SportsCasting, we have the Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich preview, latest team news and predicted lineups ahead of their second ever competitive meeting.
Aston Villa Vs Bayern Munich Preview
Ironically, the first proved to be Villa’s most famous result in their entire history. A 1-0 victory over the Bavarian’s in the 1982 European Cup final was secured by Peter Withe’s 67th minute strike.
Now, the two will lock horns once again on Wednesday night at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s side will be backed by a passionate sell-out crowd.
Domestically, the Villains have made an excellent start to the 2024/25 season. In the Premier League, a total of 13 points have been acquired from six games.
Safe passage to the Carabao Cup 4th round has also been confirmed. However, Villa’s most impressive result came on their UEFA Champions League debut when they beat Young Boys 3-0 on matchday 1.
Six-time winners Bayern will likely prove to be Villa’s toughest game of the season so far. In the Bundesliga, Vincent Kompany’s side are top of the pile after winning four of their opening five.
Former English top-flight stars Harry Kane and summer signing Michael Olise have been instrumental to Bayern’s blistering start. On matchday 1 in the Champions League, they hit Dinamo Zagreb for nine.
However, both sides go into Wednesday’s game off of the back of draws. Ipswich Town fought back to deny Emery’s side more valuable points. Current German champions Bayer Leverkusen held Die Roten 1-1.
Most notably, Germany’s most successful club side haven’t lost a Champions League group stage fixture since September 2017. A total of 41 games.
Nonetheless, if anyone can halt the run it’s Emery. The Spaniard has gotten the better of Bayern on two previous occasions and has only lost three group stage fixtures in 20.
Villa Park 🤝 Champions League pic.twitter.com/2aWtl0dciy
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 30, 2024
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Aston Villa Team News
Aston Villa club captain John McGinn is ruled out with a hamstring injury and isn’t expected back for at least another fortnight. Therefore, Emi Martinez is expected to keep hold of the armband.
The game has come too soon for Matty Cash who is still recovering from a thigh problem. Both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are still a way off from a first team return.
Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey are all set to keep their places in attack with Ollie Watkins leading the line. The best football betting sites in the UK price Watkins at 15/2 to open the scoring.
Bayern Munich Team News
Harry Kane is Bayern Munich’s biggest injury concern ahead of the trip to Villa Park. The England captain limped out of the weekend draw with Bayer Leverkusen but is expected to feature.
Legendary goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will likely keep his place in between the sticks after starting against the Bundesliga champions.
Meanwhile, Michael Olise will be keen to keep up his strong start but Sacha Boey, Josip Stanisic and summer signing Hiroki Ito miss out through injury.
Aston Villa Vs Bayern Munich Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Guerreiro, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane