2 hours ago
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Key events
Aston Villa name two debutants in their XI. João Gomes, their £38m purchase from Wolves, starts in the centre of midfield, while 17-year-old Brian Madjo – at six feet four, officially a big unit – leads the line.
PSG also have a shiny new thing in their starting line-up: Maghnes Akliouche, a £43m buy from Monaco, prepares to cause havoc on the right wing. Lucas Digne, freshly arrived from Villa, sits in the dugout awaiting his debut. Bradley Barcola, coveted by both Liverpool and Arsenal, is also on the bench.
The teams
Paris Saint-Germain: Safonov, Marquinhos, Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Pacho, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery, Neves, Kvaratskhelia, Akliouche, Doue.
Subs: Chevalier, Digne, Hernandez, Zabarnyi, Lucas Beraldo, Fabian, Mayulu, Fernandez, Dembele, Barcola, Mbaye, Ndjantou.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Lindelof, Cash, Torres, Maatsen, McGinn, Buendia, Kamara, Joao Gomes, Hemmings, Madjo.
Subs: Wright, Asemota, Mings, Rowe, Nedeljkovic, Modou Cisse, Barkley, Bogarde, Burrowes, Abraham, Edward, Lynch.
Referee: Omar Artan (Somalia).
Preamble
Aston Villa already have the Super Cup on their roll of honour, of course. Gather round, dear children, and hear tell of a time in which FC Barcelona were less renowned for their Cruyffian devotion to the beautiful game, more interested in toe-punting whoever so much as looked at them all around the shop with great vim and vigour.
The modern-day artistes of Paris Saint-Germain are unlikely to resort to such base hoodlummery this evening. That said, they’ve already thrown a toddler’s tanty over the size of their dressing room, so let’s rule nothing out. Will the European champions put Villa to the sword, just as they did Spurs this time last year? Or will Unai Emery fill an odd gap on his personal resumé, finally converting Europa League glory into Super Cup success at the nth time of asking? We find out soon! Kick-off in Salzburg is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
