Close Menu
    [Pre-Match Thread] Aston Villa vs. Red Bull Salzburg (Europa League - League Stage)
    Aston Villa

    [Pre-Match Thread] Aston Villa vs. Red Bull Salzburg (Europa League – League Stage)


    Aston Villa vs. Red Bull Salzburg

    Competition: UEFA Europa League – League Stage

    Date: Thu 29 Jan 2026

    Kickoff: 20:00

    Venue: Villa Park

    Referee: Rohit Saggi

    Aston Villa Statistics (all competitions)

    Form: DWLWW

    Goals per match: 1.5

    Average Possession: 53.9%

    Goals conceded per match: 1.1

    Pass Accuracy: 85.6%

    Shots per game: 12.2

    Tackles per game: 15.1

    Clean Sheets: 11

    Red Bull Salzburg Statistics (all competitions)

    Form: WLDWW

    Goals per match: 1.9

    Average Possession: 46.1%

    Goals conceded per match: 1.2

    Pass Accuracy: 83.8%

    Shots per game: 13

    Tackles per game: 18.4

    Aston Villa Team News

    • Villa will be without Youri Tielemans for their final game of the league phase after the midfielder picked up an injury against Newcastle United on the weekend.

    • Andres García is out for three weeks due to a hamstring issue.

    • Ross Barkley has returned to individual training and is close to joining back in with the group.

    • Villa remain without Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn.

    Red Bull Salzburg Team News

    • Takumu Kawamura and centre-back John Mellber are both out as they continue to recover from long-term knee injuries.

    Match Facts

    • Aston Villa and FC RB Salzburg have never faced before in a European match – the Villans’ only previous games against an Austrian side was in UEFA Europa League qualifying in both 2009-10 and 2010-11 against SK Rapid, going out both times.

    • FC RB Salzburg are winless in all eight major European meetings with English teams (D2 L6), losing both previous games in the UEFA Europa League against Man City in 2010-11 (0-2 home, 0-3 away).

    • Including qualifiers, Aston Villa have won 14 of their last 16 home matches in European competitions (D1 L1), winning each of their last six in a row. The Villans are aiming to win seven in a row at Villa Park for the very first time in European competition.

    • FC RB Salzburg have lost their last five away matches in major European competition – they’ve never previously lost six in a row.

    • All five of Aston Villa’s UEFA Europa League goals at Villa Park this season have been scored by players whose surname begins with M (x1 McGinn, x1 Maatsen, x3 Malen), although Donyell Malen has since left the club. Players whose surnames don’t begin with M have had 29 shots and scored with none.

    How are you feeling? What's your starting XI? Predictions? UTV!

    by just_boof_it

    View 5 Comments

    5 Comments

    2. arenaross on

      Emery off to Madrid. Guessand off to Palace. No players. Elliott maybe getting a start. Going to be an absolute bantersurus of a match.

    3. Shreddonia on

      Thought this would be the perfect game to see Guessand up top, but alas. Guess I’ll have to settle for a Hemmings masterclass and a Jimoh-Aloba banger instead. Seeing the academy kids ball out like Spurs’ lot did against Elfsborg last year would be lovely.

      UTFV, let’s end the league phase on a high.