A showdown with the European Super Cup in Austria as the backdrop!
Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa face off tonight (10:00 p.m.) at Salzburg’s “Red Bull Arena” in the UEFA Super Cup final, aiming to get the season off to a perfect start by winning a trophy!
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Liverpool and Tottenham are keeping an eye on Tzolakis
On one hand, the European and French champions, Paris Saint-Germain, finished last season in the best possible way, having lifted the Champions League trophy for the second consecutive year! In the final held at Budapest’s “Puskas Arena,” Luis Enrique’s team fell behind as early as the 6th minute against Arsenal, but they fought back and equalized in the 65th minute with a penalty kick by Dembélé, ultimately securing the victory in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout!
Tonight, they’ll try to become only the second team in… modern history to win the Super Cup for the second consecutive year, following in the footsteps of Real Madrid, which won the trophy in 2016 and 2017. In last year’s final, they defeated Tottenham in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in regulation time. We remind you that this year, in the event of a tie in regulation time, there will be no extra time; instead, the two teams will proceed directly to a penalty shootout.
Over the course of this summer, the team did not lose any of its key players, with Ramos, Kolo Muani, and Lee departing, while it was bolstered by the additions of Aklious and Dinié.
On the other hand, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa enters tonight’s match as the reigning Europa League champion and is looking to write yet another “golden” chapter in its European history! In last May’s final, held in Istanbul at Besiktas’ stadium, they dominated Freiburg and secured an easy 3-0 victory, with goals from Tielemans, Buendía, and Rodgers. At the same time, they finished in 4th place in the Premier League.
Before the start of the new season, it lost key players, with Tielemans, Rogers, Diniye, and Malen being sold and leaving, while the team was bolstered by Manzabi, who impressed with the Swiss national team at this year’s World Cup, as well as fellow midfielder, João Gomes, who was acquired from Wolves, and Garnacho, who arrived on loan from Chelsea.
Tonight’s two opponents faced off in the quarterfinals of the 2024–25 Champions League, with Paris winning 3-1 in Paris and Aston Villa 3-2 in Birmingham, a result that saw the team from the French capital advance.
Probable starting lineups:
Paris Saint-Germain (Enrique): Safonov, Zabarni, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes, Neves, Vitinha, Dro Fernandes, Baye, Mayulu, Kvaratskhelia
Aston Villa (Emery): Bizot, Cash, Lindelöf, Torres, Maatsen, João Gomes, Kamara, McGinn, Buendía, Garnacho, Abraham.
Referee: Omar Artan (Somalia)
*photo source: AP
