Aston Villa travel to Germany to play Borussia Mönchengladbach in their next pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Aston Villa F.C. arrive needing steadiness after losing four of their last seven matches. Unai Emery’s team has looked shaky at the back during pre-season, suffering heavy defeats to Porto, Real Sociedad and Bayern Munich. Most recently, the Villans were edged 2-1 by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday. Although they did record summer victories over Walsall and BG Pathum United, their inconsistent results leave questions ahead of the Premier League kick-off.
Aston Villa team news
Manager Unai Emery faces several selection problems ahead of this weekend’s final pre-season friendly in Germany.
The Premier League side heads to Borussia-Park only three days after the narrow 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, a game that worsened their existing fitness worries.
Breakout 17-year-old forward Brian Madjo, who scored Villa’s only goal against PSG, picked up a late injury and will be out until at least September.
Midfielder João Gomes also suffered a physical issue after the match and will be sidelined for two to four weeks.
They join long-term absentee Amadou Onana, who is still recovering from a severe cruciate ligament injury sustained during the World Cup.
While Leon Bailey and Johan Manzambi are close to returning from muscle and knee problems, this fixture comes too soon for them.
On the plus side, internationals Emiliano Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins could get their first minutes of pre-season.
Aston Villa predicted lineup
Possible Aston Villa starting XI: Bizot; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Barkley; McGinn, Buendia, Hemmings; Abraham
When will the match kick off?
The match will kick off at 2:30pm BST on Saturday, 15th August.
How to watch Borussia Monchengladbach vs Aston Villa?
Fans in the UK can watch Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Aston Villa live on VillaTV.