Aston Villa begin their Champions League adventure on Tuesday when they travel to Switzerland to take on Young Boys, with one major concern emerging.
It’s been a long time coming but Aston Villa finally kick off their campaign in the Champions League and they’ll be looking to get off to the perfect start.
Unai Emery has several decisions to make with his team selection following Villa’s 3-2 victory over Everton as he decides which players to give a rest.
Emery could start Villa striker Jhon Duran after he scored a stunning winner against the Toffees however, team selection isn’t the only concern he has.
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Ally McCoist’s concern for Aston Villa in the Champions League vs Young Boys
In terms of securing a victory over the Swiss giants, Aston Villa should be feeling pretty confident as Young Boys are winless in their opening six league games and sit bottom of the table.
But one issue they could have is the playing surface. Villa are used to playing on real grass in England but at the Wankdorf Stadium, it is an artificial pitch.
There’s a reason stars such as Lionel Messi have an aversion to playing on a plastic pitch; they’re more susceptible to dehydration and heat-related stress affecting their performance and endurance levels.
Ally McCoist is confident that Aston Villa can still secure a victory in Switzerland but he did raise the artificial surface as a major issue that could impact their performance.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (17/09/2024 9:12 am) McCoist said: “I am really confident about a Villa performance, a Villa victory. The only thing, for me, is a little bit of a question mark, how they handle the playing surface. That’s the only thing for me.”
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How Unai Emery has prepared Aston Villa for Young Boys pitch
Whilst playing on an artificial surface is far from ideal, particularly for the above reasons, Emery isn’t prepared to use that as an excuse.
The meticulous Spaniard changed the club’s preparation by flying to the Swiss capital early and training at the stadium.
Emery said, as per Sky Sports: “We are going to adapt. We changed a little bit our usual way for playing in Europe.
“Normally we have a training session in Birmingham and travel. But we decided to come to train here to know and to adapt for the synthetic pitch.
“We’re ready and we won’t use it as an excuse. I think we can play with the same personality like we do at home.”
Getting a feel of the pitch early could be crucial to Villa’s chances of coming away with three points, as the players will already know what to expect after training on it.
Further, with both teams arriving in contrasting form, the Villans want to make a fast start to the match and perhaps score an early goal against their confidence shot hosts.
