Aston Villa kick off their Champions League campaign with a trip to Young Boys on Tuesday evening.
It’s been over 40 years but the wait is finally over for Aston Villa fans as they get to see their side in the Champions League.
Unai Emery’s men recently discovered their opponents for their eight league games, which include mouth-watering home ties against Bayern Munich and Celtic.
Villa supporters were also left enraged by the pricing of Champions League tickets, as some fans paid £97 for the fixture against Bayern, with the game now sold out.
Nonetheless, excitement is still at an all-time high for Europe’s elite competition and many pundits have had their say with how they think Aston Villa will do.
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Dion Dublin shares Aston Villa Champions League prediction
Much like Newcastle United last term, some people think Villa’s league form will suffer as they get into the habit of playing three matches in the space of a week.
That is a valid point however, it remains to be seen as to how competing in the Champions League will affect Emery’s squad.
The last English newcomers to the competition were Leicester City in the 2016/17 campaign and they reached the quarter-finals before bowing out against Atletico Madrid.
Villa fans would be ecstatic if their side made the last eight, with Opta’s supercomputer only giving Aston Villa a 9.4% chance of getting to the quarter-finals.
Former striker Dion Dublin thinks if Emery’s men reach the latter stages of the competitions, they will have done ‘incredibly well’ but doesn’t believe they can.
Speaking on the talkSPORT YouTube channel, Dublin said: “If you get to the latter stages of the competition (Champions League), then I think Villa will have done incredibly well.
“Top four, I feel now, now that they have had a taste of it, once the fans have had a taste of it, they will want more, the players will want more. I just believe getting to the latter stages is great. I am not sure they will. I want them to, of course, I want them to win it, but it’s just not the case. Not yet.”
Unai Emery in the Champions League
Emery’s success on the European continent suggests that Villa should only be written off at their peril.
The Spanish tactician has won the Europa League four times with Sevilla and Villarreal respectively but will now have the hunger to take the Villans deep into this competition.
Statistically, Emery is one of the best managers on the planet and what he’s achieved in Birmingham speaks volumes about his masterful touch.
Given his pedigree as a manager and the aura he possesses on the touchline, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Villa go beyond the league phase and reach the knockout rounds.
Hopefully, they can replicate what Leicester achieved in 2017 by reaching the quarter-finals at the very least.
