Aston Villa visit PSG in the first leg of their UCL quarter-final

Paris Saint-Germain host Aston Villa in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday evening.

Ex-PSG boss Unai Emery is aiming to upset his former employers over the next week as Villa look to reach the semi-finals on their return to Europe’s premier competition. The Villans enter their first competitive meeting with the French giants in exceptional form having won their last seven outings in all competitions, including last weekend’s 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forest.

But their impressive run will be put to the test at Parc des Princes against high-flying PSG. The capital outfit won Ligue 1 with six games to spare on Saturday having not lost a single match in this year’s competition. Their dazzling form has translated to the European stage, too, with Luis Enrique’s side knocking Premier League leaders Liverpool out during the last 16.

PSG enter the fixture with almost an entirely fit squad but will be without the services of Lee Kang-in, who is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. The South Korean will not be the only absentee, with skipper Marquinhos suspended for accumulating too many yellow cards in the Champions League.

Lucas Beraldo will likely be the man to replace Marquinhos in the centre of defence, lining up alongside Willian Pacho. The likes of Bradley Barcola, Joao Neves and Ousmane Dembele all started the weekend win over Angers on the bench but will return to the starting XI.

PSG predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola.

Villa were also able to rest players at the weekend as John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Matty Cash, Lucas Digne and Marcus Rashford all started on the bench. A number of those names should come back into the starting lineup in Paris.

In terms of injuries, Villa also find themselves with an extremely healthy squad at present. Their only fitness concerns are Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey, both of whom are closing in on returns but could miss out on Wednesday.

PSG loanee Marco Asensio is available to face his parent club, joining left-back Digne and manager Emery as former employees of the French side.

Aston Villa predicted lineup vs PSG (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, McGinn, Rashford; Watkins.