This is Aston Villa's place pre-season tour of the United States begins in the state capital of Ohio as Unai Emery's side face MLS outfit Columbus Crew.
Villa are preparing for an incredibly exciting season after a fourth-place finish saw them qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the competition was rebranded in 1992.
The club have already been busy in the transfer market with the likes of Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana arriving at Villa Park, but Emery has lost midfielder Douglas Luiz to Juventus.
Villa's summer started with two 3-0 friendly victories over Walsall and Spartak Trnava. Saturday night's game against Columbus Crew is the first of three friendlies Emery's side will play in the US before returning home ahead of their Premier League season opener against West Ham on August 17.
The Crew are in the midst of a promising 2024 MLS campaign, although the campaign is suspended until the end of August. They sit third in the Eastern Conference and are chasing Lionel Messi's Inter Miami at the top of the standings.
Here it is 90 min guide to Aston Villa's upcoming pre-season friendlies.
Columbus Crew vs Aston Villa H2H record (All Time)
Current form (all competitions)
|
The Columbus Crew |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Atlanta Utd 2-1 Columbus Crew – 21/07/24 |
Spartak Trnava 0-3 Aston Villa – 20/07/24 |
|
Columbus Crew 1-1 Charlotte FC – 18/07/24 |
Walsall 0-3 Aston Villa – 17/07/24 |
|
LAFC 1-5 Columbus Crew – 14/07/24 |
Crystal Palace 5-0 Aston Villa – 19/05/24 |
|
Columbus Crew 4-0 Toronto – 07/07/24 |
Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool – 13/05/24 |
|
Columbus Crew 2-0 FC Nashville – 04/07/24 |
Olympiacos 2-0 Aston Villa – 09/05/24 |
|
The country |
TV channel / live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Villa TV (subscription required) |
|
United States |
Villa TV (subscription required) |
|
Canada |
Villa TV (subscription required) |
Looking at their play-off prospects, Columbus may not be at full strength for Saturday's friendly but will be eager to prove themselves against strong opposition.
The hosts are without Evan Bush with an arm injury, but he should be back in time for the return of MLS in August.
Columbus Crew predicted lineup (3-4-2-1): Hagen; Moreira, Camacho, Cheberko; Farsi, Zawadzki, Matan, Arfsten; Rossi, Ramirez; Hernandez.
Emery almost had a full squad available for the Villa trip, despite Ollie Watkins not yet returning from international duty. Youri Tielemans is among those competing at Euro 2024 and is available for Saturday's game.
Newcomers Onana and Maatsen could start against the Crew, while Emiliano Buendia, who missed the entire 2023/24 campaign with a knee injury, has already made the trip.
Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Kortney Hause will be absent.
Aston Villa predicted line-up (4-2-2-2): Olsen; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Maatsen; Barrenechea, Dendoncker; McGinn, Bailey; Dobbin, Archer.
Villa have impressed in their two pre-season outings so far and are not well-prepared for their trip to the States.
However, they face a Columbus club in the middle of their MLS campaign and the American outfit will represent the highest level of what Villa have faced so far this summer.
Emery will happily turn around and take advantage of his team's away points in Ohio and, given Columbus' free-scoring nature, there should be an entertaining belt on Saturday night.
Prediction: Columbus Crew 2-2 Aston Villa
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