BSC Young Boys vs Aston Villa

Aston Villa tonight became the 11th English team to play in the UEFA Champions League. They are only the fourth of those 11 sides to win their first game, along with Man Utd in 1994 (4-2 vs IFK Göteborg), Newcastle in 1997 (3-2 vs Barcelona) and Leicester in 2016 (3-0 vs Club Brugge).

Young Boys have lost 12 of their 19 matches in the UEFA Champions League (W3 D4), losing on MD1 in three of their four campaigns (2018-19, 2023-24 and 2024-25).

Aston Villa went in at half-time 2-0 ahead tonight, becoming the first side to be leading by two goals at half-time in their first ever match in the UEFA Champions League since fellow English side Leicester City in 2016 against Club Brugge.

This will be the first ever meeting between Young Boys and Aston Villa. Swiss sides have only won seven of the previous 24 meetings with English sides in the UEFA Champions League (D6 L11), while six of those seven victories were achieved by Basel (one by Young Boys).

Young Boys have only won one of their previous six games against English opponents in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L4), losing home and away to Manchester City in the competition last season. Their only victory over an English side came in September 2021, winning 2-1 at home to Manchester United.

Aston Villa will become the 11th different English club to compete in the UEFA Champions League, and the first English newcomer since Leicester City in 2016-17 (won 3-0 in their first game versus Club Brugge).

This will be Aston Villa’s first game in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League since March 1983, when they were beaten over two legs by Juventus in the 1982-83 quarter-final (1-2 at home in the first leg, 1-3 in the second leg away).

Young Boys won their previous home game in the UEFA Champions League, beating Crvena Zvezda 2-0 on MD5 last season. Only once before have they won consecutive home matches in the competition – 2-1 v Juventus and Manchester United between 2018 and 2021.