Aston Villa heads to Monaco to play its penultimate match of the Champions League stage on Tuesday evening.
It was a memorable return to Europe's premier club competition for Villa, who took a big step towards the last 16 by beating RB Leipzig 3-2 last time out. Unai Emery's side won four of their six matches in the league stage, with their continental campaign highlighted by a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.
Villa now face the Ligue 1 side, having come from 2-0 down to pick up a point Arsenal in Premier League on saturday.
Back-to-back defeats in this competition mean that Monaco will likely have to go through the knockout stages to reach the last 16. After starting their second season strongly under Adi Hutter, Monaco's form dipped in the new year as they lost to bottom club Montpellier on Friday evening.
Results of the Monaco and Aston Villa H2H match
This is the first competitive meeting between Monaco and Aston Villa.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Monaco |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Montpellier 2-1 Monaco – 01/17/25 |
Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa – 18/01/25 |
|
Reims 1-1 (3-1A) Monaco – 01/14/25 |
Everton 0-1 Aston Villa – 01/15/25 |
|
Nantes 2-2 Monaco – 10/01/25 |
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham – 10/25/25 |
|
Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Monaco – 01/25/25 |
Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester – 04/01/25 |
|
Union Saint-Jean 1-4 Monaco – 12/22/24 |
Aston Villa 2-2 Brighton – 30/12/24 |
|
nation |
TV Channel/Live Broadcast |
|---|---|
|
UK |
Discovery+, Discovery+ App, TNT Sports 1 |
|
US |
Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com, Univision NOW, TUDN App, TUDN USA, UniMas |
|
Canada |
DAZN CANADA |
The hosts face some problems in attack, with Hutter set to rely on experienced Swiss striker Briel Embolo in front of a young, creative trio.
Monaco is missing former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun due to a shoulder injury and youngster George Ilinykhina due to a muscle problem.
Wilfried Singo and midfielder Denis Zakaria missed Friday night's disappointing defeat to Montpellier, and Villa are doubts for the visit.
Monaco's expected lineup against Aston Villa (4-2-3-1):magic; Vanderson, Salisaw, Kerr, Henry; Chamber, Magasa; Akliush, Golovin, Ben Saghir; piston.
John McGinn has recovered from a hamstring injury and could feature on Tuesday, having returned to Villa training. However, a place in the starting lineup is unlikely.
Lucas Digne is expected to replace Ian Maatsen at left-back, while Leon Bailey is also bidding to return to the team despite Jacob Ramsey's return from injury.
Donyell Malen was an unused substitute at the weekend, having just arrived from Borussia Dortmund. Emery should give the Dutchman his debut here.
John Doran could be brought back into the team to give Ollie Watkins some rest.
Aston Villa expected lineup against Monaco (4-2-3-1):Martinez; Kash, Konsa, Menga, Denny; Kamara, Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, Doran, Rogers.
Villa have been somewhat inconsistent domestically, but they have looked comfortable in the game UEFA Champions League They can secure their place in the round of 16 with a win here.
Emery's cleverness on one occasion has paid off, as Villa were able to raise their game on the big occasion.
They face a dynamic and vertical Monaco side on Tuesday, but they are a young and out-of-form team. The home side will have their moments and Villa may have to weather some storms, but Emery's savvy will see them through another tough European day away from home.
