Aston Villa kick off their highly anticipated Champions League campaign when they travel to Switzerland to face Young Boys in their first match of the 2024-25 season.
This is Villa’s first appearance in the competition since the early 1980s, marking their return to Europe’s top tier after an impressive Premier League season.
Villa’s qualification for the Champions League comes after a fantastic fourth-place finish in the 2023-24 Premier League, and they will be quietly optimistic about their chances in Bern. Villa are the first English newcomers to the competition since Leicester City’s debut in 2016-17, becoming the 11th English club to compete in the UEFA Champions League.
Unai Emery, Villa’s experienced manager, is no stranger to the Champions League. He will be managing his sixth different club in the competition, following spells at Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, PSG, and Villarreal. Emery last guided Villarreal to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2022, eventually falling to Liverpool.
Villa head into this match in good form after a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Everton in the Premier League. Ollie Watkins, who scored his first two goals of the season in that victory, will be key in attack. Jhon Durán also made his mark with a stunning long-range goal to secure the win.
However, Villa will have to cope without key players. Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara remain sidelined, while Leon Bailey and Matty Cash are also out. Despite these challenges, Villa’s squad depth should provide enough quality to compete at this level.
Young Boys, on the other hand, have struggled domestically this season. They remain winless after six matches in the Swiss league but did manage a morale-boosting win over lower-tier side Vevey-Sports in the Swiss Cup at the weekend. Despite their domestic woes, Young Boys have a history of causing upsets in the Champions League, famously beating Manchester United 2-1 in 2021.
This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Young Boys and Aston Villa. Swiss clubs have generally found it tough against English opposition in the Champions League, winning only seven of 24 meetings. Young Boys’ sole victory came against Manchester United in 2021, but they have also struggled recently, losing home and away to Manchester City last season.
Ollie Watkins will be the danger man for Villa, having equalled the club’s European scoring record with five goals in last season’s Europa Conference League campaign. His pace and finishing ability will be crucial against a Young Boys defense that has looked vulnerable in recent games.
Young Boys will look to their key players, including Meschack Elia and Cedric Itten, to provide a spark in attack. However, their shaky form at the back could make them vulnerable to Villa’s potent forward line.
Aston Villa come into this match as favourites, given their recent form and European experience under Unai Emery. Young Boys will be eager to make a statement at home, but their poor start to the season may leave them exposed. Villa’s superior firepower could prove decisive.
This season’s Champions League features 36 teams in a single league table, with each club playing eight different teams (four home, four away). The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, while teams in positions nine to 24th will enter a play-off round.
