RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The European soccer season is officially back on Wednesday as PSG, the 2025-2026 Champions League winners and Aston Villa, the Europa League title holders, will face each other at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg for the opening match of the European season. Spanish coach Luis Enrique seemed unhappy about the preparation for the game and said during the pre-match press conference that they "had a lot of absences in the pre-season games.
"It's hard to predict who will play. For every team, it's important to win a European trophy, and we'll see what kind of match both teams can deliver this Wednesday. I don't have players. Some returned this Monday, others came back last week. We are trying to prepare in the best way possible. I don't know what kind of physical condition my players will be in."
Here's what you need to know ahead of the match:
PSG have one of the most talented squads in world soccer, with almost all of their key starters having been among the top players at this summer's 2026 World Cup. While most of the squad have now returned to full training, Luis Enrique has acknowledged that they are still some way from reaching their best level of form.
Achraf Hakimi was a key player for Morocco, while Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Joao Neves all featured for Portugal at the tournament. Marquinhos was a starter under Carlo Ancelotti with Brazil, while Willian Pacho played a similar role for Ecuador. Fabian Ruiz, meanwhile, was part of the Spain team that lifted the trophy on July 19. Among PSG's other top players, including French stars Ousmane Dembele and Desiré Doue, and Bradly Barcola, though he is involved with transfer speculation.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the only major attacking player in the squad who did not feature at the World Cup this summer. Nevertheless, he remains one of the leading candidates for the 2026 Ballon d'Or after an outstanding season in which he established himself as one of Europe's most influential attackers.
PSG XI: Matvey Safonov; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Ibrahim Mbaye.
Aston Villa XI: Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen; Joao Gomes, Boubacar Kamara; Alejandro Garnacho, Emiliano Buendía, John McGinn; Ollie Watkins.
Despite Luis Enrique's words ahead of the game, PSG still need to be considered the favourites ahead of the UEFA Super Cup. Pick: PSG 3, Aston Villa 2.
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