Aston Villa – PSG

The visitors will face serious problems in Birmingham

The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between PSG and Aston Villa was rather one-sided. Despite the fact that the Birmingham club opened the scoring in the 35th minute with their first shot on goal, the Parisians dominated the entire match. Luis Enrique's side got back into the game four minutes later with a delightful strike from outside the box by Doue. Kvaratskhelia gave PSG the lead early in the second half and Mendes scored the final score 3-1 in stoppage time. At home the Parisians had three times more possession (75 per cent against 25 per cent), four times more shots on goal (29 - 7) and five times more shots on goal (10 - 2). It would seem that the need to score at least two goals more than the opponent in the return leg puts an end to Aston Villa's potential semi-final exit. However, we should not forget that we are talking about the Champions League, and the compositions of both clubs "packed" with world-class players. Bookmakers have identified the guests as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.12 on their victory. Aston Villa before the defeat in Paris had a series of seven wins. This fact emphasises the playing form of the Birmingham club. Villans fans are particularly excited about the club's progress in the Championship, where they have three victories in April. In them, in particular, were defeated direct competitors of Emery's team in the fight for a place in the Champions League zone - Brighton and Nottingham Forest. It should be noted that at their stadium Aston Villa lost only twice this season. It happened last August in the championship from Arsenal and in October 2024 in the English League Cup from Crystal Palace. Birmingham have lost to Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and failed to win against Liverpool, Juventus, Brighton and Manchester United this season. PSG won the French championship seven rounds before the finish and now play "friendly" matches there. Away games against teams like Aston Villa carry an increased threat for the favourites. The Parisians have no idea how difficult it will be for them in Birmingham.