Aston Villa handed dream Champions League draw vs Barcelona, face PSG rematch
Aston Villa have been handed a dream Champions League draw as they will head to the Camp Nou to face Spanish giants Barcelona in the league phase.
It will be the first time Villa have played against Barca since the 1982/83 season when they met in the UEFA Super Cup, and will be a memorable trip for Villa fans making the trip. It is certainly a higher profile fixture than their pot one away fixture against RB Leipzig two years ago.
Barcelona are one of eight opponents Villa were drawn to play on Thursday. They face two teams from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. Besides the match versus Barca, they will host what is becoming a familiar opponent in PSG as their other pot one draw.
The back-to-back European champions will come to Villa Park for the second time in three seasons, having been defeated 3-2 by Villa in the quarter finals in the 2024/25 season, although they prevailed on aggregate and ultimately went on to win the Champions League.
Villa drew Borussia Dortmund at home and Club Brugge away from pot two, a pair of Turkish teams in Fenerbahce at home and Galatasaray away from pot three, and from pot four they drew Norwegian side Viking at home and Slavia Praha away.
Looking at the draw as a hole, there are some big tests, some mouth watering ties and some old foes. In terms of pot one, Villa could arguably not have been handed a tougher pair of opponents.
Facing PSG on any ground is probably the most difficult fixture in world football right now, although will pull confidence from the win at Villa Park two seasons ago as well as their performance in the recent Super Cup loss.
The most glamorous fixture besides those two is the matchup with Dortmund.
It would have been more exciting if the game was in the famous Signal Iduna Park, but having a quality opponent come to Villa Park instead does at least increase Villa’s chances of getting a result, which is the most important thing.
Villa will be sick of the sight of Brugge by this point, having played them in the league phase two years ago and then again at home and away in the knockout stages.
Unai Emery will expect a difficult game, as Villa found out when they lost 1-0 in the league phase. However, the round of 16 was more straightforward, as they won 3-1 in Brugge and 3-0 at Villa Park. As away games against a pot two opponent go, it could have been a lot worse.
Fenerbahce are another familiar opponent, with Villa beating them 1-0 in the Europa League group phase last season.
The contest will be at Villa Park this time, but the fixture versus Galatasaray will give fans a chance to relive some recent fond memories in Istanbul as Villa return to the site of their Europa League triumph back in May.
That will be a testing game in a hostile atmosphere, and this will be a Rafael Leão derby of sorts, as the Portuguese forward looks set to join either Villa or Galatasaray before the end of the transfer window.
Villa will have high hopes for their Champions League campaign after making it to the last eight two years ago and being knocked out by the eventual champions.
While their league phase fixtures are not quite as forgiving as they were in 2024/25, they will back themselves to get results against all their opponents from pots two, three and four – even if there are some tough ones in there – and progress from the league phase at the very least.
