Edeh Meshack

⚽️🥅⚽️ BARCELONA v ASTON VILLA Villa have a perfect record and go to a Barca side that leads LaLiga. Their first meeting since the 1983 Super Cup. Villa are 2nd on 9 points, level with PSG, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Betis. Barca are 8th on 6, the last automatic top-8 spot. A Villa win puts them well clear of the play-off places. A Barca defeat could push them out of the top 8. Hansi Flick's Barca won their first 11 games, then lost 4-2 at PSG and 2-1 at home to Real Madrid, before beating Alaves 6-1. They haven't kept a clean sheet in 18 UCL games, the longest current run, but are unbeaten in 15 UEFA home games against English sides. Unai Emery's Villa won 3-2 at Club Brugge, 6-0 against Fenerbahce and 3-1 against Viking. They've scored 12, second only to PSG's 14. They are without Onana, Ruggeri and Wan-Bissaka, and arrive after a 3-0 League Cup loss at Bournemouth and a 1-1 draw with Fulham. Raphinha has 17 goals in 12 games this season. Lamine Yamal has 12 goals and 11 assists in all competitions and leads the UCL with 4 assists. One more UCL goal would give him the teenage scoring record outright. He's level with Mbappe on 13. Nicolas Jackson has 8 goals in his first 12 games for Villa, including the goal against Fulham after a training scare. John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara give the midfield its energy and protection. Emiliano Buendia or Leon Goretzka could also play a big part. Injuries reshape Barca's back line. Kounde, Christensen, Eric Garcia and Xavi Espart are out, so Frenkie de Jong has been playing centre-back, and Joao Cancelo may move to right-back. Dani Olmo (torn adductor) and Roony Bardghji (ACL) are out further forward. Villa have beaten Barca once in 4 meetings. In the 1983 Super Cup they lost 1-0 at Camp Nou, then won the return 3-0. Emery has won 3 of 30 games against Barca, his worst record against any side he's faced 5+ times. His PSG lost 6-1 here in 2017. We should have nothing less than 4 goals in this game 🤞 #BarcaVilla #ChampionsLeague #UCL