Overview
Aston Villa continues their Asian tour with a confrontation with BG Pathum United after a favorable start with a 3-1 victory over Indonesia All Stars in Jakarta. This is also the match marking the debut of newcomer Alejandro Garnacho in the colors of the Birmingham team.
Coach Unai Emery took advantage of the recent friendly match to rotate the force strongly when making up to 10 changes after the break.
After the successful 2025-2026 season with the Europa League championship and fourth place in the Premier League, Aston Villa entered a new campaign with many changes in force. Two pillars, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, have left the team after the 2026 World Cup.
In the opposite direction, Villa quickly added strength with quality rookies such as Alejandro Garnacho, Joao Gomes and Johan Manzambi. However, the pre-season friendly results of this team are still not really stable. After a 5-0 victory over Walsall, Emery's team successively lost to Porto 0-2 and Real Sociedad 2-4 before defeating Indonesia All Stars.
The Southeast Asian tour is considered an important preparation step before Aston Villa enters the European Super Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain on August 12. After stopping in Indonesia, the English team will go to Thailand before closing the tour with a clash with Bayern Munich in Hong Kong (China).
Meanwhile, BG Pathum United is also actively preparing for the new season. The Thai team finished the domestic league last season in fourth place with only six defeats after 30 rounds, thereby winning the right to participate in the AFC Champions League Two.
They have participated in the AFC Champions League twice in the last 5 years and won the domestic league for the first time in 2021. Under the guidance of coach Vladimir Vujovic, who returned to power in February last year, BG Pathum continues to maintain its position in the leading group of Thai football.
Personnel situation
Unai Emery is likely to continue rotating the squad in the friendly match with BG Pathum United. Some key players such as Victor Lindelof, Evann Guessand and captain John McGinn have reappeared in Jakarta. However, most Aston Villa players who just participated in the 2026 World Cup are still not ready to return.
Names like Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Emiliano Martinez and new signing Johan Manzambi (currently injured) are likely to continue to be absent.
On the side of BG Pathum United, the home team places high hopes on Japanese striker Tomoyuki Doi. This striker has just moved to Thailand after a season of explosion in the Singapore Premier League with 44 goals.
Ashley Coffey is also a noteworthy option in the home team's attack, while the midfield is still led by experienced captain Sarach Yooyen.
Expected lineup:
BG Pathum United: Anuin, Andersen, Choolthong, Buaphan, Tamma, Kaufmann, Kaman, Yooyen, Raniel, Doi, Gustavsson.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Nedeljkovic, Cisse, Mings, Maatsen, Gomes, Barkley, McGinn, Buendia, Garnacho, Madjo.
The match between BG Pathum United and Aston Villa takes place at 7:30 PM on August 4th (Vietnam time).
