Unai Emery confirms Aston Villa trio will miss Paris Saint-Germain clash

Unai Emery has confirmed that Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins will miss Aston Villa’s European Super Cup meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg on Wednesday.

The two sides will face each other at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria, with Emery unable to call on three players who were involved in the World Cup later than the rest of the Villa squad.

Martinez played for Argentina in the World Cup final, while Konsa and Watkins represented England in the tournament’s third-place play-off.

Emery said the trio had been given additional time to recover after their season ended on 19 July.

“The three players finished their season on 19 July and I gave them four weeks’ rest, and this was absolutely essential,” said the Aston Villa manager.

The absence of Martinez, Konsa and Watkins leaves Villa without three important members of the squad for their first competitive match of the new campaign. However, Emery said his team would prepare with the players who began their pre-season work four weeks ago, alongside a number of younger players.

“Of course, if they were here, perhaps we would have had more chances, but at the same time I think Paris Saint-Germain will be in the same situation as us,” he added.

“We will prepare for the match with the players who started our preparations four weeks ago, with some young players.”

Aston Villa secured their place in the European Super Cup by winning the Europa League last season. They beat Freiburg 3-0 in the final to lift the trophy.

Emery expects his side to compete despite the absences and says they will attempt to challenge Paris Saint-Germain using the qualities available to them.

“I expect us to compete against Paris tomorrow, and we will try to face them with our abilities and our qualities, and overcome them,” he said.

The match is being played at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg on Wednesday evening. Paris Saint-Germain will also be affected by the differing recovery schedules created by the World Cup, according to Emery, who believes both teams could find themselves in a similar position at the start of the season.

Villa will therefore begin their pursuit of another European trophy with a squad that includes players who have been working together during the past four weeks, as well as younger members of the group being asked to contribute against the French side.