Overview
Aston Villa is having a positive warm-up for the new season with two consecutive victories in the Asian tour. After overcoming Indonesia All-Stars 3-1, Unai Emery's team continued to defeat BG Pathum United with the same score, thereby creating psychological momentum before the big challenges ahead.
In both matches, Emery rotated the squad strongly to ensure fitness for the players instead of chasing after the results. A noteworthy highlight is the return of midfielder Boubacar Kamara after a long injury period. The French international marked his return with a goal, bringing positive signals to Villa's midfield.
The Birmingham team enters the 2026-2027 season with high expectations after winning the Europa League and winning fourth place in the Premier League last season. However, Aston Villa's force also has many fluctuations when they parted ways with two pillars Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, and also added new players such as Alejandro Garnacho, Joao Gomes and Johan Manzambi.
Before the Asian tour, Aston Villa once won big against Walsall 5-0 but then continuously lost to Porto and Real Sociedad. The two recent victories show that Emery's team is gradually regaining stability before entering the decisive stage of the preparation process.
The next test will be much more difficult when Aston Villa faces Bayern Munich. This is considered an important rehearsal before the confrontation with Paris Saint-Germain in the European Super Cup match next week.
On Bayern Munich's side, the reigning Bundesliga champion is also in the process of completing the squad under Vincent Kompany. After a surprise 1-2 defeat to Wiesbaden in the first friendly match, "The Bavarians" quickly regained confidence with a 15-0 victory over Rottach-Egern, before overcoming Jeju 2-1 in the Asian tour.
The victory over Jeju witnessed two talents who grew up from the academy, Felipe Chavez and Bastian Assomo, scoring together, while many Bayern pillars have also returned after the post-World Cup break.
Despite possessing a remarkable track record, Bayern Munich does not have many beautiful memories against Aston Villa. The German representative once lost in the C1 European Cup final in 1982 and also lost to Villa in the Champions League 2 years ago.
Personnel situation
Captain John McGinn is likely to be absent after suffering a knee injury in the victory over BG Pathum United, causing Aston Villa to face the risk of personnel shortage in midfield.
In the opposite direction, Unai Emery received positive signals when Boubacar Kamara fully recovered and scored in his return. Newcomer Joao Gomes also quickly integrated, while young talent Brian Madjo continued to impress with 4 goals in the pre-season period.
On Bayern Munich's side, Vincent Kompany is expected to use a stronger squad than in the match against Jeju. However, the "Bayern" still lacks many key players when Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano are off for compensation after playing with England and France in the World Cup third-place match.
Besides, Lennart Karl, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala have not yet returned after the unsuccessful World Cup campaign of the German team. Alphonso Davies and newcomer Ismael Saibari also continue to stay in Munich to complete their injury recovery process, missing the Asian tour.
Expected lineup:
Bayern Munich: Urbig, Boey, Tah, Kim Min-jae, Brown, Palhinha, Kimmich, Ibrahimovic, Chavez, Diaz, Assomo.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen, Gomes, Bogarde, Guessand, Buendia, Garnacho, Madjo.
The match between Bayern Munich and Aston Villa takes place at 7:00 PM on August 7th (Vietnam time).
