First contested in 1973, the event has endured for over five decades, with Champions League victors holding a 30-20 historical edge over Europa League winners.
The European soccer season is officially back on Wednesday as PSG, the 2025-2026 Champions League winners and Aston Villa, the Europa League title holders, will face each other at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg for the opening match of the European season.
The previous two came in the 2024-2025 Champions League quarter-finals when PSG squeezed through 5-4 on aggregate.
"PSG are the favourites but I am looking forward to playing, how we can test this match against PSG with our capacity? "As a coach, as a player, as a club, it's a trophy. It's one thing that makes us proud of how we are and how we arrive here."
Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins have not travelled after playing at the World Cup, with Emery giving them a month off. It means there is a chance just four of the starters who faced the French champions 18 months ago will start for Villa. Five of the substitutes that night are also no longer at the club. Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans have been sold while Amadou Onana is out injured until next year. Villa have undergone significant change this summer, with Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne sold for about £150million combined as the club sought to stay in line with UEFA financial rules.
Skipper John McGinn has been at Villa since they were in the Championship in 2018 and despite the high-profile departures, he is confident they will continue to challenge, both in the Champions League and Premier League this term. He said: ‘We are really excited by the new Aston Villa. Our expectation is similar to where it has been in the past few seasons, competing with the best in England and Europe. ‘A lot is changing but we have the same manager, the same methods and a desire to achieve more. A lot of people thought we’d reached our ceiling but we’ve proved them wrong.’