Champions League 24/25: Aston Villa, starting 11 and odds

Now the 2024/25 season has started, Ladbrokes takes you through Aston Villa's Champions League squad, their chances of winning the competition and what their starting 11 has been.

Aston Villa did well to qualify for the Champions League as a result of finishing fourth in the Premier League in 2024, and they'll have been hoping to continue that momentum with a strong showing in their return to Europe's top club competition.

Villa won football's most prestigious club competition in 1982, something that Arsenal aren't able to say, and Man City have only been able to since 2022.

With all that said, Ladbrokes takes you through Aston Villa's squad for the current Champions League campaign, what their starting line-up has looked like, and their odds winning the competition.

Below is the squad that Aston Villa have taken into this season's Champions League, with a few additions from the roster that got them back into the UCL last season.

• Emiliano Martinez, Joe Gauci, Robin Olsen
• Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Kosta Nedelikovic, Ian Maatsen, Kortney Hause, Lina Sousa
• Ross Barkley, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana, Kane Taylor
• Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey
  

Emi Martinez has been Villa's UCL goalkeeper, with Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne and one of Matty Cash and Tyrone Mings.

Digne has also been rotated with Ian Maatsen, as and when Emery sees fit, but the French seems like he's going to play the biggest and most important games when he's fit.

Amadou Onana comes into midfield alongside Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, with a front two of Ollie Watkins and wonderkid Morgan Rogers.

Villa did well to qualify for the Champions League, beating the likes of Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham to the spot through their league position, but the bookies don't think they've got what it takes to win the UCL come May 2025.

Villa have been given a shot of around 3% by the bookies to be crowned Champions of Europe next year, the first time their fans will have been able to sing that in over 40 years.

Unai Emery's side are keen as more likely than Dortmund to win the competition, but for context, have longer odds than both of Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, amongst others.

Young Boys away was Aston Villa's first Champions League game for the 2024/25 season, with that fixture taking place on September 17 and ending in a 3-0 win for Emery's.

It was big one in matchday two for Villa as Bayern Munich travelled to Villa Park for a UCL fixture on October 2, which ended in a 1-0 win for the English side. Later that month, on October 22, Villa played Bologna in Birmingham in their third UCL game of the campaign, winning that 2-0.

Club Brugge hosted Villa on November 6, surprisingly beating the English side 1-0, before matchday four saw them draw with Juventus 0-0 at home on November 27. That game came the month before Villa beat RB Leipzig 3-2 away on December 10.

Things resumed on January 21, 2025 for Villa in the UCL with a 1-0 away loss to Monaco. January 29 saw Villa's final league game of the UCL campaign, with a home 3-2 win against Celtic.

Aston Villa then beat Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate in the competition's round of 16 stage. Villa joined fellow English side Arsenal in thw quarter-finals, where they'll face the competition's favourites, PSG.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.