Aston Villa face the biggest game of their season on Tuesday night when they host PSG in the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
Villa fans – Prince William included – were in dreamland last week after Morgan Rogers gave them the lead in Paris.
But PSG showed why they have emerged as frontrunners for the trophy, with Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia putting them back in front before Nuno Mendes scored a sucker punch of a goal in injury time.
Overturning a 3-1 scoreline will be extremely difficult for Unai Emery’s side, but thankfully he can count on a fully fit and healthy squad – bar one possible exception.
Leon Bailey was the only player to miss Saturday’s 3-0 at Southampton as he continues to recover from an unspecified injury, though he is in first-team training.
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‘Leon is progressively getting better,’ Emery said last week.
‘Today, maybe, he is working with the group. If not for tomorrow, hopefully for next Tuesday, he will be available.’
Emery rotated his side for the trip to St. Mary’s, where PSG loanee Asensio had two penalties saved by Aaron Ramsdale and Ollie Watkins came off the bench to break the deadlock.
The England striker has had to deal with a knee issue in recent weeks and was benched for the first-leg in Paris, but after Marcus Rashford’s struggling performance, he may be restored to the starting XI.
‘The next step – if I have time – is to play them [Watkins and Rashford] together,’ Emery said in his pre-match press conference.
Who will reach the Champions League semi-finals?
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Aston Villa
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PSG
‘We did with Rashford playing left side but now we are choosing more with both playing as strikers. That’s the next step. I want to practice, I want to test but not now with enough time.’
Emery added that he had not yet decided on his starting XI: ‘We are going to train this afternoon and it is important to see how all the players are.
‘We played on Saturday and were training yesterday morning. We need to train today and have a look every player. I don’t have in my mind a starting 11 but I have a plan overall of how we should be playing.
‘We are preparing for each game with every player. They need to understand how we have to manage not only physically but also mentally.’
Donyell Malen has scored in his last two Premier League games but is unavailable for selection after being omitted from Villa’s Champions League squad.
Whoever emerged victorious at Villa Park will face the winner of Real Madrid vs Arsenal in the semi-finals, with the Gunners up 3-0 from the first-leg in London.
Predicted Aston Villa XI to face PSG
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, Rogers, McGinn, Ramsey, Watkins
Where to watch PSG vs Aston Villa? Kick-off time and TV channel
The second-leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Aston Villa and PSG kicks-off at 8pm on Tuesday, April 15.
The match will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video, with coverage starting at 6.30pm.
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