Manchester City meet PSG, Villa face Fenerbahce as Iraola banks on Barcola and Wirtz

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain will face off in their Champions League match on Wednesday.

PSG strived to follow City’s era of sustained success and are now firmly established as Europe’s top dogs after successive Champions League titles to go along with their domination of French football.

City won the race against Qatar-owned PSG to become European champions first in 2023.

The triumph over Inter Milan in Istanbul that completed a treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup was the pinnacle of City’s rise since 2008. Winning the Champions League could be City’s only way back into the competition next season.

City will need to stop PSG’s quest to join a very select club of sides to win the Champions League or European Cup in three consecutive seasons.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery wants his side to get back to winning ways on home turf when they face Fenerbahce in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Birmingham club’s form at Villa Park has been one of the key factors in Villa’s rise up the Premier League table, with the 1982 European champions now competing again in the continent’s top club competition for the second time in three years.

But Villa have yet to win at home this season, with two defeats and a draw from three games.

One factor in the slump may be the fact that they are playing in front of a reduced crowd at Villa Park, with the North Stand out of action while it is refurbished for Euro 2028 and the ground as a whole something of a building site.

But Emery believes the game against Turkish club Fenerbahce offers an opportunity for a reset.

“We are realistic about how we are working and improving things,” Emery told a press conference on Tuesday.

“But it is not enough yet, so we are having lots of conversations with the team, in meetings and with videos, practising too to show improvements in matches.

“At Villa Park, we have not won yet, so it is very important how we can improve things to be closer to winning. Tomorrow is a very good opportunity to do one step forward in those improvements and the players as well to get confidence and feel comfortable.”

The Spaniard added: “Villa Park is for us something very, very special. It should be like the four years that we are here -- how we achieved this as a special place, our fortress. Tomorrow is a new challenge to show it.”

Villa’s start to the season has been hampered by injuries and they have suffered another blow in the build-up to the second round of Champions League fixtures, with Italian defender Matteo Ruggeri set to be sidelined for a month because of a hamstring problem after coming at half-time during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Brentford.

“Ruggeri, we don’t know exactly how long it’s going to be, but it will be some weeks that he’s going to be out, more than one month,” said Emery.

“We need to find solutions because (Ian) Maatsen is not yet available.”

Elsewhere, Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has backed big-money signings Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola to come good despite an underwhelming start to their careers at Anfield.

Wirtz joined the Reds last year in a deal that could reportedly rise to £116 million ($153 million), but has so far struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League.

The German international, who rose to stardom during Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to the Bundesliga title in 2022/23, has scored just seven times in 56 appearances for Liverpool.

Barcola is only six games into his Liverpool career since a £123 million switch from Paris Saint-Germain, but is yet to score or assist for his new club.

“I think they’ve had good games and bad games this season, like everyone else, but they are two players that we know their level and they will give us for sure good performances,” Iraola said ahead of his side’s Champions League trip to Austrian champions LASK.

The former Bournemouth manager believes Barcola’s display in a 3-0 defeat by Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday would have been viewed differently had Lewis Koumas netted from his pass when the game was still goalless early in the second half.

“I was happy with a lot of things the other day with Bradley,” added Iraola. “He had good situations, we just didn’t finish them but him and Flo are players that I trust 100 percent.”

There is even more scrutiny on Barcola and Wirtz, with Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai sidelined by injury.

Agencies