Aston Villa x Bayern Munich: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Wednesday, the German powerhouses Bayern Munich will visit Villa Park in a Champions League match that echoes the 1982 European Cup final. It's been over 42 years since the two teams last met.

Villa scored three goals in Switzerland, and Bayern smashed nine past Dinamo Zagreb in their respective opening league-phase matches.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Strange as it may seem, the English team Aston Villa will face the same legendary opponents they vanquished in Rotterdam a year ago in their first home game in Europe's premier league since 1983.

To claim the continental title, Villa won their sole prior encounter against Bayern Munich 1-0. In this week's match, they are riding high after a 3-0 triumph in their Champions League debut.

In Bern, the Villans defeated Young Boys after a shaky start thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey, and Amadou Onana.

With a sell-out crowd expected on Wednesday, they will aim to become the first Premier League team since the competition's redesign in 1992 to win both of their first games. Leicester City, another club from the Midlands, achieved this feat in 2016.

This past weekend, Villa were poised for seventh place in the league after eight games, but they blew a 2-1 lead against newly promoted Ipswich Town and ended up drawing, dropping to fifth place.

Birmingham reached the Conference League semi-finals last season after returning to UEFA competition for the first time in thirteen years, largely thanks to Unai Emery's leadership and the club's meteoric domestic rise.

Emery is a seasoned European master; he has beaten Bayern Munich twice and lost just three of his twenty Champions League group games. Still, in 2017, while managing PSG, he suffered a loss to Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich set a new record for home victories in the first game of their most recent campaign, going above and beyond its first-look league phase opponents' resounding victories on the first matchday.

Die Roten have set a new record for most goals scored by a single side in a Champions League match, with nine. They also set a new competition record with 19 shots on goal.

As a result of their sensational start to the 2024–25 season, Bayern have scored 30 goals under Vincent Kompany, including four goals from Harry Kane in their 9–2 thrashing of Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb.

Even though Kompany's perfect record came to an end in a 1-1 tie with the defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen—Bayern finished third last season, 18 points behind Kompany—recent results have strengthened the notion that the Meisterschale will return to Bavaria next spring.

On the other hand, since September 2017, the six-time European champions have won 37 of 41 group-stage matches in the Champions League without losing a single one.

They have also advanced to the quarterfinals or higher in 12 of their last 13 seasons, so beating Villa Park should be high on their priorities as they aim to finish in the top eight and avoid a potentially difficult playoff.

Aston Villa x Bayern Munich Team News

A hamstring injury has sidelined Aston Villa captain John McGinn for the past two matches, and the Scottish star will now not play in Wednesday's meeting, according to Unai Emery.

Also missing is Matty Cash, who has a thigh injury. Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara, who have been out for a while, are back in full training but are still not ready to play for the first team.

Jhon Duran scored four goals this season as a substitute, tying him with star striker Ollie Watkins (who scored again on Sunday), who was Villa's leading marksman. The absence of Leon Bailey has not affected Villa's attacking options, either.

Morgan Rogers scored his first Premier League goal of the season last weekend. In his Champions League debut, he set a new record for most opportunities created by an English player since Danny Welbeck in 2009.

Harry Kane scored 41 goals in the Bundesliga, more than Jadon Sancho, while Michael Olise scored five in his previous four outings for Bayern Munich.

He is set to start after generating concern with his late exit from the match against Leverkusen due to an ankle issue. In seven appearances at Villa Park, Kane has contributed to seven goals, including two game-winners.

On a different note, veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made his return to action on Saturday after a thigh injury, but summer acquisition Hiroki Ito (foot), Sacha Boey (knee), and Josip Stanisic (knee) are all still out with injuries.

Our predictions

Bayern Munich to win @ 1.75 on Sky247.ng

Even a buoyant Aston Villa side won't be able to stop Bayern from destroying their European opponents this week.

Since Villa's defense is still not solid, Kane, Olise, and company should score multiple goals in Birmingham to increase their lead to six points.

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