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Red Bull Arena, Salzburg
Wednesday 12 August 2026, 20:00 BST
European football restarts in Salzburg on Wednesday night as Paris Saint-Germain, the Champions League holders, meet Europa League winners Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup. The neutral venue at the Red Bull Arena hosts a rematch of the 2024-25 Champions League quarter-final, a tie PSG edged after two chaotic legs.
Villa arrive as clear underdogs but have a manager who thrives in one-off European finals, and a summer of upheaval has reshaped both squads since they last met. This preview covers the run-in that brought each side here, the injury picture, the predicted lineups and our pick for how the trophy is decided.
PSG vs Aston Villa preview and form guide
PSG closed the 2025-26 campaign as one of the most decorated teams in the club's history, sealing a fifth straight Ligue 1 title with a game to spare and retaining the Champions League against Arsenal in Budapest.
The European defence was anything but smooth. Luis Enrique's side scraped through the league phase in 11th place, then needed a 5-4 aggregate win over Monaco in the play-off before hitting form, thrashing Chelsea 8-2 and Liverpool 4-0 over two legs on the way to the final.
The final itself went to penalties after a 1-1 draw, Ousmane Dembele levelling from the spot before PSG held their nerve in the shootout. That knockout run, rather than the patchy group stage, is the truest measure of how dangerous this team becomes when the stakes rise.
Pre-season has been low-key by comparison. The squad returned to training at Poissy on 27 July, with the World Cup contingent handed extra rest, and warm-up fixtures against Mallorca and Manchester United precede the trip to Austria.
Aston Villa produced the finest season of the Unai Emery era, finishing fourth in the Premier League to return to the Champions League and lifting the Europa League with a 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Istanbul final.
Their defensive record was a genuine strength, the fifth-best in the Premier League, built on Emiliano Martinez behind a settled back line and the organisation Unai Emery drills into his teams.
The bigger concern for this final is continuity rather than quality. A summer of heavy sales has stripped out several of the players who defined that run, and the pre-season results, including a 4-2 friendly defeat to Real Sociedad, point to a team still finding its shape.
Team news: PSG vs Aston Villa injuries and predicted XIs
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG have no fresh injury concerns, but the state of the World Cup contingent is the story of their build-up. Fabian Ruiz, Marquinhos, Hakimi, Nuno Mendes and Lucas Beraldo all featured deep into the tournament and reported back later than the rest.
The sale of Goncalo Ramos to AC Milan leaves Luis Enrique without a recognised centre-forward, so the front line is likely to be built around movement rather than a fixed number nine. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose Georgia did not qualify, arrives with a full pre-season behind him and should lead the attack.
Dembele and Desire Doue give Enrique two more forwards who can drift inside and interchange, which suits a Super Cup where PSG will expect to dominate the ball. The bigger question is how much intensity the returning internationals can sustain.
PSG predicted XI (4-3-3): Lucas Chevalier; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue.
Paris Saint-Germain
Aston Villa
Villa are without Amadou Onana, who ruptured his cruciate ligament on international duty and faces a long spell on the sidelines. Boubacar Kamara is further along in his own recovery but is not expected to be at full sharpness for a competitive final this early.
The summer exits of Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans leave Unai Emery rebuilding the spine of his midfield and attack, so new arrivals Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes are likely to be handed early responsibility.
Ollie Watkins featured for England at the World Cup but should still lead the line here, with Alejandro Garnacho offering a direct threat from the left after his loan move from Chelsea.
Aston Villa predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen; Joao Gomes, Boubacar Kamara; Alejandro Garnacho, Emi Buendia, John McGinn; Ollie Watkins.
Aston Villa
Head-to-head: PSG vs Aston Villa
These sides have met only twice, both in the 2024-25 Champions League quarter-final, and both games were open and high-scoring.
PSG won the first leg 3-1 at the Parc des Princes, with Desire Doue, Kvaratskhelia and a late Nuno Mendes strike overturning Morgan Rogers' early opener.
Villa then won the return 3-2 at Villa Park, recovering from two goals down through Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa, only for PSG to advance 5-4 on aggregate after Gianluigi Donnarumma made a string of late saves.
The tie is recent enough to matter and the storyline is clear: Villa can hurt this PSG side, but they could not stop it entirely across 180 minutes. Both squads have since changed, so the meetings are context rather than a form line.
Our PSG vs Aston Villa prediction and betting tips
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Adam is a freelance sports journalist with a decade of experience in the industry. Football is his passion, although he also follows darts and many other sports.
Adam supports Arsenal and local club Wealdstone, made famous by the Wealdstone Raider, who he has interviewed. Adam also follows the women's teams and the England national side.