Emery explains why Watkins, Konsa and Martinez won't play vs PSG
· John Townley · 2026-08-11 · nguồn gốc
Unai Emery has confirmed that Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez have not travelled to Salzburg for the UEFA Super Cup.
Aston Villa flew out to Austria on Tuesday afternoon ahead of their clash with Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg on Wednesday night.
Watkins, Konsa and Martínez are yet to feature for Villa in pre-season after taking breaks following their respective World Cup campaigns.
"They are not here because they finished the season July 19, and I gave them four weeks to rest, and it is completely necessary," Emery said. "Of course, if they were here, maybe we will have many more chances, but at the same time, I think PSG will be in same situation as us.
"We will prepare the game with players, even some young players, like we started with four weeks ago. Of course, they (PSG) are favourites."
Johan Manzambi, meanwhile, will miss Villa’s match against PSG due to a knee injury he suffered during the World Cup while representing Switzerland.
PSG manager Luis Enrique has his World Cup stars back available for the game. While they will be undercooked, there are no notable absentees for the Spaniard to manage.
Emery acknowledged that facing the Champions League winners will be a huge test for his side.
“Different moment, even different players. A few years between one team and another team, but a lot of changes,” he said, reflecting on the Champions League quarter-final meeting two years ago.
“How we can identify our power with PSG comparing with the two matches we played – as well, two very different matches (to each other). In Paris, we lost 3-1 and we played a good match, but not being protagonists like the second match.
“The second leg, we were exploiting more our potential in attack, having a really good moment to come back the result during the second half, really being protagonists and dominating against the best team.
“At the end, we didn’t achieve it. But overall, we could feel playing against PSG, one team like that, we could achieve the level they had. Our players as well, I think for our belief, it was very important the way we played.
“We are going to try and use the same message in the dressing room, and we are going to prepare the game thinking they will feel favourites, but if we are competing in our best way, we can have our chances.”
Aston Villa will face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday, August 12, as the Europa League and Champions League winners meet in Austria. Fans can watch the game live on TNT Sports via HBO Max or Prime Video's HBO Max channel.