Barcelona vs Aston Villa: Champions League preview, predictions, team news and TV info

These two clubs most-recently met in the UEFA Super 43 years ago, a competition played over two legs back then, with Barcelona 1-0 winners at Camp Nou, before reigning European champions Aston Villa were 3-0 winners in the Midlands a week later to take the trophy.

Overall, Aston Villa have won just one of their last seven visits to Spain, this their first since beating Celta Vigo in 1998. Barcelona beat Newcastle 7-2 in March, extending their unbeaten home record against English clubs to 16 matches.

So, ahead of this huge Champions League clash on Tuesday, check out our preview, predictions, team news and TV info.

Barcelona vs Aston Villa match info

Date: Tuesday 3 November 2026.

Kick off times: 9pm (local) 8pm (UK) and 3pm (ET)

Competition: UEFA Champions League league phase matchday 4

Venue: Camp Nou - Catalonia, Spain

How to watch: Paramount+ (USA), Movistar+ (Spain) and TNT Sports 1 (UK).

How can I watch Barcelona vs Aston Villa?

Barcelona vs Aston Villa match preview

Can Barcelona get back to winning ways in the Champions League? A fortnight ago, the Blaugrana's flawless start to this season came to an end, beaten 4-2 by holders Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital. Before this, Hansi Flick's side had won every La Liga match, as well as beating Feyenoord 5-1 and Galatasaray 4-1 in İstanbul to commence the league phase. Their last 18 league phase fixtures have now witnessed a ridiculous 91 goals, which is more than five per match.

Well, the loss in Paris was quickly followed by a 2-1 defeat in the Clásico at Camp Nou, blowing the La Liga title race wide open again. This led to many questioning if Barcelona are the real deal after all. Well, Flick's side certainly would have restored some confidence on Saturday night, steamrollering Alavés 6-1 at home, four up by the interval; Raphinha and Lamine Yamal both bagging a braces.

Now though, this is another crucial few days. On Sunday night, La Liga's top two go head-to-head at the Metropolitano, and victory for Atlético Madrid would actually see them leapfrog Barça in the table. Before then, as Barcelona seek to finish towards the very top of the gigantic Champions League table too, they will want to get back to winning ways here.

Meantime, there are only five clubs who currently boast 100% records in the Champions League; PSG, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Betis and Aston Villa. The Claret and Blue Army finished eighth in the first-ever league phase, en route to the quarter-finals, before winning last season's Europa League, looking well placed to put together another strong European campaign.

So far, Unai Emery's team have beaten Club Brugge 3-2 at Jan Breydelstadion, before demolishing both Fenerbahçe and then Viking back at Villa Park, scoring nine goals across those two matches and conceding just one.

In the Premier League meantime, after yielding just a solitary point from their first four matches, Aston Villa are now unbeaten in five, including beating Man City, Tottenham and Newcastle. On Saturday night, they were though held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at home, with John McGinn thwacking the crossbar with a penalty, before a Zion Suzuki error saw the Cottagers equalise. So now, can the Villans upset the odds and beat Barcelona, or will the Spanish champions be simply too strong?

Barcelona team news

Andreas Christensen, Eric García, Jules Koundé and Xavi Espart all remain sidelined, limiting Hansi Flick's defensive options. Thus, Frenkie de Jong started at centre-back on Saturday, with youngster Brian Fariñas at right-back, but out of favour Alejandro Balde and Gerard Martín will return.

Elsewhere, Anthony Gordon is set to come back into attack, displacing Karim Adeyemi, while Lamine Yamal's goal at the Parc des Princes was his 13th in the Champions League, equalling the record for a teenager, held by Kylian Mbappé.

Aston Villa team news

Unai Emery is without Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Matteo Ruggeri and Amadou Onana, while Leon Goretzka has started the last two matches, set to keep his place over Ross Barkley and João Gomes at the base of midfield. In attack, Nicolas Jackson has been in red hot form, scoring eight times in his last nine starts, so could he be the Villa hero in Catalonia? Brian Madjo, who scored on debut in the UEFA Super Cup, will be back on the bench following an ankle injury.

Predicted Line-ups

Barcelona predicted lineup: J García; Cancelo, Cubarsí, Martín, Balde; Rodri, Pedri, Fermín; Lamine Yamal, Gordon, Raphinha.

Aston Villa predicted lineup: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelöf, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Goretzka, McGinn; Alysson, Manzambi, Jackson.

Score prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Aston Villa.

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