When teams qualify for the European Cup or Champions League for the first time or after a long time away, some draws stand out. Some trips jump out of the fixture list for supporters who dedicate days and weeks of their lives to following their teams all over the continent.
Aston Villa supporters are in Catalonia for a league phase match against Spanish champions Barcelona at one of the most famous football stadiums on the planet. I’d say I was envious but I haven’t put in the legwork to make that claim, never mind actually go to game like this.
Unai Emery took Villa back into Europe, then into the Champions League and a Europa League trophy. Now, he’s taking them to the Camp Nou. It’s quite a time to be a Villan.
Villa have enjoyed a great start in the Champions League this season, winning three matches they were expected to win on paper. They’ve given themselves as good a platform as possible and now the tougher fixtures begin.
They don’t get tougher than this one.
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Last meeting:
🟢 Aston Villa 3-0 Barcelona (AET, European Super Cup, 26th January 1983)
Current form:
BAR – 🟢🟢🟢🟢🔴🟢 (La Liga)
AVL – 🔴🟢🟠🟢🟢🟠 (Premier League)
Villa lost 1-0 on their last visit to what we used to call the Nou Camp. That was in the first leg of the European Super Cup in January 1983.
Barcelona came to Birmingham to face the European champions a week later and a Gary Shaw goal took the tie to extra time before Gordon Cowans and Ken McNaught secured a second European trophy.
Cowans missed a penalty in extra time and Allan Evans was sent off with five minutes to go. Barcelona had already had two players dismissed. Both teams would settle for a more routine match in Spain on Tuesday but Barcelona are favourites and Villa would consider a draw a positive outcome.
Barcelona are flying. Eleven games into their league season, Hansi Flick’s Blaugrana have racked up ten wins and lost only to Real Madrid. They were beaten in their last Champions League outing as well but that was against Paris Saint-Germain.
They’ll be confident of evening up their record with Villa’s to leave both teams with three wins and a loss. Emery will have a plan to deny them and stranger things have happened.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis – Added to the Champions League squad prior to the last game.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – Nearing a return but not expected to be back in time to be included on Tuesday.
Brian Madjo – Not included in the Champions League squad.
Matteo Ruggeri – Removed from the Champions League squad due to injury.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Starting XI: Zion Suzuki; Matty Cash, Victor Lindelöf, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen; Boubacar Kamara, João Gomes; John McGinn, Johan Manzambi, Emi Buendía; Nicolas Jackson
In Villa’s first season in the Champions League since it became the Champions League, four decades and more after their last game in the European Cup, the league phase draw brought Bayern Munich to Villa Park.
The echoes of Rotterdam were unavoidable. Bayern, European giants by any measure, arrived in Birmingham as favourites and with the aura to match. It was as if they brought top-level European football with them. It was a marquee fixture that seemed to close a loop.
Villa beating Bayern 1-0 again was one of the highlights of the campaign. After all those years, Emery had taken them back to the top table and they took a bite out of Bayern once more.
That night at Villa Park was one of the big milestones of Villa’s Champions League story. Tuesday’s visit to Barcelona is another.
The home team are heavy favourites, in excellent form and packed to the gills with players they can’t really afford. A Villa win would be a shock simply because of the comparative qualities of the squads but it’s worth pausing at this juncture in the league phase to consider Villa’s progress.
Some clubs’ supporters are just used to this stuff. But, if you’re a Villa supporter, take a second to remind yourself of this: It’s Barcelona away in the Champions League.
Five years ago, November 3rd. Villa were two days away from losing their fifth Premier League match in a row. It was the last match Dean Smith took charge of before his dismissal ushered in the risible Steven Gerrard era.
Ten years ago, November 3rd. Villa have just drawn against Birmingham City in their first season in the Championship. In the next game, they had to come from behind to beat a struggling Blackburn Rovers team and had Ross McCormack as their starting striker ahead of Rudy Gestede.
Drink it in. These are the days.
Barcelona v Aston Villa is an 8.00pm kick-off on Tuesday 3rd November.
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