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Aston Villa travel to Catalonia to face Barcelona in the Champions League at Camp Nou on Tuesday, November 3, with kick-off at 8pm GMT. Both sides enter the match with strong continental campaigns, though they face contrasting squad challenges.
Team News
Barcelona continue to deal with a defensive injury crisis as Andreas Christensen, Jules Koundé, Eric García, and Xavi Espart are all sidelined. Dani Olmo and Roony Bardghji are also unavailable for the Spanish champions.
Barcelona’s starting line-up features Garcia, Farinas, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo, Rodri, Pedri, Yamal, Lopez, Gordon, and Raphinha. Their substitutes bench includes Szczesny, Livakovic, Balde, Gavi, Jesus, Adeyemi, De Jong, Bernal, Abdelkarim, Goren, Victor, and Campos.
Aston Villa are missing Aaron Wan-Bissaka due to a thigh issue, Amadou Onana with a knee injury, and Matteo Ruggeri because of a hamstring problem.
Aston Villa’s starting XI consists of Suzuki, Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen, McGinn, Kamara, Gomes, Manzambi, Buendia, and Jackson. The visitors’ substitutes are Bizot, Wright, Harwood-Bellis, Mings, Barkley, Garnacho, Abraham, Mbaye, Goretzka, Alysson, and Hemmings.
Match Background and Form
Barcelona recently bounced back from defeats against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain by thrashing Alaves 6-1. Meanwhile, Villa manager Unai Emery returns to Camp Nou bearing memories of leading Paris Saint-Germain when they relinquished a 4-0 first-leg lead to lose 6-1 in a knockout tie.
Villa have won all three of their Champions League fixtures this season against Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, and Viking, leaving them second in the league-phase table with nine points. They also defeated Manchester City 2-1 in the Premier League before drawing with Fulham.
This encounter marks the fifth meeting between Barcelona and Aston Villa across European competitions. Barcelona previously triumphed 4-3 on aggregate in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, while Villa claimed the 1982 UEFA Super Cup with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Barcelona have lost only two of their 38 home matches against English visitors and remain unbeaten in 15 home fixtures against Premier League opposition since a defeat to Liverpool in 2007. For Villa, this fixture represents their first European Cup match against Spanish opponents, having won only one of their eight previous away matches in Spain.
Where to Watch
Viewers in the UK can watch the match on TNT Sports or stream it via the HBO Max app, while supporters in the US can tune in on Paramount+ starting at 3pm ET.
