PSG vs Aston Villa: UEFA Super Cup – prediction, lineups, teams

What the report says

Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa meet in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, Austria, on Wednesday, August 12 at 9pm local time (19:00 GMT), in the traditional opening match of Europe’s club season. Al Jazeera reported that the game brings together the Champions League winners, PSG, and the Europa League winners, Villa, with PSG aiming to become only the second club in the modern era to retain the trophy.

The article said PSG arrive with some uncertainty around fitness and squad availability after players returned from international duty at different times. Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Fabian Ruiz were among those recently back in training, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is expected to be available. The piece also noted the possible involvement of Lucas Digne, who returned to PSG from Villa in a reported €10 million deal.

Aston Villa, now in their fourth full season under Unai Emery, are also managing several absences and doubts. Al Jazeera reported departures including Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Digne, while new arrivals such as Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes are part of the rebuild. Manzambi is unavailable because of injury, and several other players are listed as doubtful.

Al Jazeera also pointed to PSG’s previous advantage over Villa in last season’s Champions League meeting, although Villa won the second leg 3-2. The article cited Opta’s pre-match simulations as favoring PSG, and said the referee assignment has drawn attention because Omar Artan was previously blocked from officiating at the World Cup by U.S. authorities, a decision that UEFA later appeared to challenge by appointing him to the match.