Aston Villa have won all three in the Champions League, and Barcelona host them with four defenders still out
Unai Emery says there is a big gap between the sides, but Villa arrive at Camp Nou second in the league phase while Hansi Flick is still short at the back.
Nov 3, 2026
Aston Villa have won all three of their Champions League games. Barcelona have won two of theirs and lost the other one, and they go into Tuesday night’s game at Camp Nou with four defenders still out. Kick-off is 9pm in Barcelona, which is 1:30am IST on Wednesday.
Jules Koundé, Eric García, Andreas Christensen and Xavi Espart are all missing again. Christensen has only done light work in training, and Hansi Flick said he hopes to have García, Koundé and Christensen back after the international break. That leaves him the same problem he had against Alavés on Saturday, when Frenkie de Jong played centre-back next to Pau Cubarsí and Barcelona still won 6-1. Gerard Martín, who can play at centre-back or left-back, is available.
Three wins from three in Europe, and a wobble in England
Villa opened the league phase with a 3-2 win in Bruges, then beat Fenerbahçe 6-0 and Viking 3-1 at Villa Park. They are second in the table behind PSG. They are also the Europa League holders, having beaten Freiburg 3-0 in May for Unai Emery’s fifth title in that competition.
The Premier League has been harder going. Villa took one point from their first four games, then went five unbeaten, with wins over Manchester City, Tottenham and Newcastle in that run. Last Wednesday Bournemouth beat them 3-0 to knock them out of the Carabao Cup, and on Saturday Fulham held them 1-1 at Villa Park. They are tenth on 12 points from nine games.
Emery travels without Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Matteo Ruggeri and Amadou Onana, all ruled out injured.
Emery talks up the gap
Emery did not pretend this is a meeting of equals. “We are trying to find our way. We have been together for four years, and we are looking for new challenges and learning how to face teams like Barcelona, given the big gap between us and them,” he said. He called Rodri “the best midfielder in the world” and said Lamine Yamal is “the player closest to the title of the best player in the world”.
He knows this ground. On 8 March 2017 Emery took PSG to Camp Nou with a 4-0 lead from the first leg of a last-16 tie, and they lost 6-1. Villa’s own record in this fixture is happier. The last time these clubs met was the 1982 European Super Cup, played in January 1983: Barcelona won the first leg 1-0 at Camp Nou, and Villa won 3-0 after extra time at Villa Park to take the trophy.
Two big Sundays to follow
Neither side gets a breather. Barcelona go to Atlético Madrid on Sunday, two points clear of them at the top of La Liga, and Villa go to Manchester United. Barcelona’s front line should create plenty, but a patched-up back four against a Villa side that has scored 12 goals in three Champions League games is not a comfortable night for Flick. A draw would do Villa no harm at all.