Aston Villa’s Champions League journey continues on Wednesday evening when they travel to France to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
Villa will enter the clash with confidence levels high on the back of seven straight wins in all competitions, and three consecutive victories in the Premier League taking them within just two points of the top four.
The formidable French outfit will provide stern opposition for Unai Emery – who returns to the club he served two seasons as manager between 2016 and 2018 – having knocked out Premier League leaders Liverpool in the round of 16.
Here is the lowdown on PSG…
Scenesetter
A regular on this stage, PSG have competed in the Champions League in each of the last 12 seasons.
Despite never lifting the famous trophy, the Parisians did make the final in 2020, where Kingsley Coman’s second-half goal sealed the crown for Villa’s MD2 opponents, Bayern Munich.
PSG have also reached the semi-finals on three occasions, in 1994/95, 2020/21 and last season, where they were beaten 2-0 on aggregate by a Borussia Dortmund side which included Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen.
Luis Enrique’s side will be entering this tie on a high having sealed a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title – and record 13th overall – over the weekend with a 1-0 win over Angers.
They are still hunting a trophy quadruple this season, and could become only the seventh team in the history of Europe’s top five leagues to end a campaign unbeaten, should they not be defeated in their remaining six outings.
Manager focus
Luis Enrique is into his second season as PSG boss, having been appointed in the summer of 2023 after two separate spells in charge of Spain’s national team.
The former Barcelona boss won a domestic treble in his first season at the Parc des Princes, taking his total managerial trophy haul up to 12, a tally which has since risen to 14.
A versatile attacking midfield player, Enrique represented both Real Madrid and Barcelona during the 1990s and 2000s, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España.
Following his retirement, he began coaching with Barcelona’s ‘B’ side in 2008, going on to lead Roma and Celta de Vigo before returning to the Catalan outfit at senior level in 2014.
At Camp Nou, Enrique won the lot. The 2015 Champions League and subsequent UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup were the highlights among two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and a Supercopa de España.
He left Barcelona in 2018, before taking up a role in charge of the Spanish national team, which he held – over two spells – until 2022, stepping down after elimination from the 2022 World Cup at the round of 16 stage.
The skipper
Experienced central defender Marquinhos has been with the French side for over 10 years having signed in the summer of 2013, and assumed captaincy in September 2020, succeeding fellow Brazilian defender Thiago Silva.
PSG’s record appearance holder, the 30-year-old also has over 100 games under his belt in the Champions League and is three away from reaching 100 caps for his nation, for whom he also wears the armband.
The former Roma man has been a mainstay in Paris throughout his team’s domestic dominance, with a record 10 Ligue 1 titles, seven Coupe de France winners medals, six Coupe de la Ligues and nine Trophée des Champions to his name.
Ones to watch
Ousmane Dembélé
An exciting French forward, Dembélé has really hit the heights this season.
Like his manager, the 27-year-old represented Barcelona having turned out for Rennes and then Dortmund in his early career. He spent six years in Spain between 2017 and 2023 before he was signed by Enrique at PSG last summer, picking up three trophies in his first season.
The 2024/25 campaign has so far seen him rack up 32 goals and seven assists in 40 appearances in all competitions, with a further two titles already under his arm. He has seven goals in 55 France caps and remains a vital cog in Didier Deschamps’ national team wheel.
Désiré Doué
Another exciting French forward, Doué has burst on to the scene this season, enjoying a productive first campaign at PSG having arrived in the French capital in the summer.
Quick, dynamic and versatile, the 19-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough at Rennes over the past two years, and has followed that up with 22 goal involvements in 42 games this season.
Doué earned his first France cap in the last international break, having netted three goals in 10 games, and picked up a silver medal last summer as part of the side which competed at the Paris Summer Olympics.
Warren Zaïre-Emery
Another aged just 19, midfielder Zaïre-Emery has established himself as an integral member of the PSG squad having progressed through the club’s Academy.
In 2022, he became PSG’s youngest player in history, making his senior debut aged 16 years and 151 days old, and has gone from strength to strength, making 37 appearances and counting this season.
With 100 games for PSG and a further seven senior France caps already under his belt, Zaïre-Emery looks like a name we’ll need to get used to seeing for years to come.
Round of 16
PSG dramatically booked their spot in the quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Premier League leaders Liverpool in the last 16.
The Parisians had to do it the hard way, having fallen to a first-leg defeat on home soil after substitute Harvey Elliott’s late strike sealed a 1-0 win for the Reds.
But Luis Enrique’s men triumphed in normal time at Anfield, thanks to Ousmane Dembélé’s early strike, and negated a nervy extra-time period to send the clash to penalties.
Towering Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was PSG’s hero, saving from both Curtis Jones and Darwin Núñez in the shoot-out to send his side marching on.
The venue
The breathtaking Parc des Princes has been home to PSG since 1973 and holds over 48,000 spectators.
Located in the city’s 16th arrondissement, the venue was the home of both the country’s national football and rugby union sides until the opening of the Stade de France in 1998.
It has hosted major tournament matches in the World Cup and European Championship, as well as European Cup finals, Rugby World Cup games, Olympic Games events and music concerts with the likes of Prince, Michael Jackson and The Rolling Stones.
