Aston Villa will be aiming to make it three pre-season victories in a row when they take on MLS outfit Columbus Crew in a friendly fixture on Saturday night.
Unai Emery's side have been victorious in both of their pre-season games this summer, while Columbus are 23 games into their MLS campaign, so they should provide strong opposition for the English outfit.
Match preview
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Columbus are currently third in the Eastern Conference, with a solid campaign seeing them pick up 43 points from their 23 matches, but they will enter the friendly with Villa off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Atlanta United.
The Crew will not be back in MLS action until August 25 against Philadelphia Union, with the division being paused due to the 2024 Leagues Cup, which will involve all MLS and Liga MX teams.
Wilfried Nancy's side won the MLS Cup last year courtesy of a 2-1 win over Los Angeles FC in the final, and they have had a strong July despite the setback against Atlanta last time out.
Indeed, Columbus recorded three straight wins over Nashville SC, Toronto and Los Angeles FC at the start of this month, but they were held by Charlotte before the loss to Atlanta.
The Crew will expect to be physically superior to their opponents on Saturday due to Villa only just beginning their pre-season, but there will be a big gap in quality between the two sets of players.
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Villa enjoyed an excellent 2023-24 Premier League season, finishing fourth in the table to secure a spot in the group stage of the upcoming Champions League.
Emery's side will be under pressure to again be in and around the top four next term, and they have made a strong start to their pre-season, beating both Walsall and Spartak Trnava 3-0.
Villa will face RB Leipzig and Club America in their final two friendly matches in the United States before returning to England for games against Athletic Bilbao and Borussia Dortmund.
Emery's team will then begin their new Premier League campaign against West Ham United on August 17, while their second match of the new season will see them welcome Arsenal.
Villa have been incredibly busy during this summer's transfer window, with their biggest signing in terms of a fee proving to be Amadou Onana from Everton, while they have sold both Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz for big money.
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Team News
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Columbus will be missing goalkeeper Evan Bush for this contest due to an arm injury, but the MLS outfit are otherwise in strong shape heading towards the clash with Villa.
Head coach Nancy will hand opportunities to a number of squad players, but a recognisable XI is expected to take to the field for the first whistle in this contest.
Diego Rossi should be among the starters for the Crew, while there are also expected to be positions in the final third of the field for both Christian Ramirez and Cucho Hernandez.
As for Villa, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Ian Maatsen, who were in action at Euro 2024, have made the trip to the United States for the pre-season tour.
Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea, Ross Barkley, Jaden Philogene, Lewis Dobbin and Onana are also with the squad, so there are set to be a number of new faces on display in this match.
Villa still have a number of notable absentees, though, with Jhon Duran, Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins, Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings among those unavailable for selection.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Moreira, Camacho, Cheberko; Farsi, Zawadzki, Matan, Arfsten; Rossi, Hernandez, Ramirez
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Gauci; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Moreno; McGinn, Rogers, Onana; Bailey, Archer, Philogene
We say: Columbus Crew 1-2 Aston Villa
We are expecting a competitive match on Saturday, which is exactly what Emery will want at this stage of Villa's preparations for the new campaign. It would not be a surprise to see a draw, but Villa should have enough quality to continue their winning run in friendlies this summer.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
