Aston Villa’s Unavailable Trio Ahead of Super Cup Clash with PSG
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has announced that Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, and Emi Martinez will not participate in the team’s upcoming Super Cup match in Austria. The team is set to face Paris St-Germain on Wednesday in Salzburg but will miss the contributions of these three players after their involvement in the World Cup.
Konsa and Watkins played crucial roles in helping England secure a third-place finish, while Martinez’s Argentina fell short against Spain in the finals. Emery explained, “They are not here—Konsa, Watkins, and Martinez—because they finished the season on July 19, and I gave them four weeks to rest. It is completely necessary.”
He acknowledged the challenge posed by PSG, clarifying, “If they were here, maybe we could have more chances, but at the same time, PSG are going to be in the same situation. We are preparing this game with the players we started with four weeks ago; I expect to compete with them with our capacity. They are favorites.”
In addition, record signing Johan Manzambi will also miss the match as he continues to recover from a knee injury. Defender Victor Lindelof recognized the obstacles ahead as Villa aims to be competitive in four different competitions this season.
“It’s always going to be a challenging season when you play in Europe, that’s what we want to do. We want to compete at the highest level, especially in Europe,” he stated. “I’m looking forward to it, but you need a good squad as well, available and ready to perform. There are going to be many games during the season, and I think the squad is ready for that.”
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery confirmed Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez have not travelled to Austria for the Super Cup.
Villa face Paris St-Germain on Wednesday in Salzburg but will be without the trio after the World Cup.
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Konsa and Watkins helped England finish third while Martinez’s Argentina were beaten by Spain in the final.
Emery said: “They are not here Konsa, Watkins and Martinez because they finished the season 19 July and I gave them four weeks to rest. It is completely necessary.
“If they were here maybe we could have more chances but at the same time PSG are going to be in the same situation.
“We are preparing this game with the players we started with four weeks ago, I expect to compete with them with our capacity. They are favourites.”
Record signing Johan Manzambi is also absent as he recovers from a knee injury and defender Victor Lindelof knows Villa’s squad will be stretched as they look to compete in four competitions this season.
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He said: “It’s always going to be a challenging season when you play in Europe, that’s what we want to do. We want to compete at the highest level, especially in Europe. I’m looking forward to it but you need a good squad as well, available and ready to perform.
“It’s going to be many games during the season and I think the squad is ready for that.”
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