Barcelona vs Aston Villa preview: injury-hit Barça face perfect Villa

Aston Villa arrive in Catalonia with a perfect record. Unai Emery's side have won all three of their Champions League games so far, and on Tuesday 3 November (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT) they visit Barcelona at Camp Nou on matchday 4 of the league phase. Hansi Flick's team are in a very different position: six points, plus a 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain still fresh, and a back line thinned out by injuries.

The table before matchday 4

Five clubs share the maximum nine points, Villa among them (full Champions League table):

Pos	Team	Played	Points	Goal difference
1	Paris Saint-Germain	3	9	+9
2	Aston Villa	3	9	+9
3	Liverpool	3	9	+5
4	Real Madrid	3	9	+5
5	Real Betis	3	9	+3

Villa have beaten Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe and Viking, scoring 12 goals and conceding three. Barcelona beat Feyenoord and Galatasaray before losing in Paris. With the top eight going straight into the last 16, a home win would pull Barça level with Villa on points; a Villa win would take them to 12 points – a big step towards the top eight before November is out.

Form: Barça back in rhythm, Villa held at home

Barcelona answered the defeat in Paris with a 6-1 rout of Alavés on Saturday. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal scored twice each, Fermín López and Anthony Gordon added the others. The win keeps Flick's side top of LaLiga on 30 points from 11 games, two ahead of Atlético de Madrid.

Villa's weekend was flatter: a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham on Saturday evening.

Last match	Result
Barcelona – Alavés (LaLiga)	6-1
Aston Villa – Fulham (Premier League)	1-1
PSG – Barcelona (Champions League)	4-2
Aston Villa – Viking (Champions League)	3-1

Team news

Barcelona's problems are at the back. According to Diario AS and FútbolFantasy, Jules Koundé (ankle), Eric García (thigh) and Xavi Espart (ankle) were still missing from training on Sunday, and Flick is not expected to rush anyone back. Andreas Christensen trained partly with the group but has not been given the all-clear. Dani Olmo is also out with an adductor injury.

Up front, Barça have plenty: Raphinha and Yamal are in form, and the 19-year-old has a record in sight. According to UEFA, Yamal has scored 13 Champions League goals as a teenager, level with Kylian Mbappé's record – one more on Tuesday would make it his alone.

History and numbers

• The clubs have met in two European ties: Barcelona won a 1977/78 UEFA Cup quarter-final 4-3 on aggregate, Villa took the 1982 UEFA Super Cup 3-1 on aggregate.
• Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 15 UEFA home games against English clubs (ten wins, five draws), per UEFA.
• Villa have won only one of eight UEFA away games in Spain – 1-0 at Celta in 1998/99.

Our take

This is the most interesting test of the night because both teams are strong where the other is vulnerable. Villa have been efficient and tight in Europe, but a makeshift Barcelona defence can still be protected by having the ball: at home, with Yamal and Raphinha in this kind of form, Barça usually dictate the rhythm. The danger for Flick is the space behind his full-backs if Villa break quickly. A draw would suit Villa more than Barcelona – the hosts need the points to avoid a nervy run-in to the play-off places.

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