4th highest spenders, 11th most valuable squad – are Aston Villa Champions League dark horses?

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3-2 victory over RB Leipzig 

©Imago/Content stadium

If Aston Villa had any trepidation about sitting at the top table of European football after returning to Europe’s top tournament for the first time since 1982, it certainly wasn’t on show on Tuesday night. At a loud Red Bull Arena in Saxony, the Premier League giants went blow-for-blow with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig before claiming all three points in a 3-2 win. The result now means that Villa sit joint-second in the Champions League’s new league phase, ahead of Wednesday night’s matches. 

However, despite Aston Villa’s relative inexperience in the Champions League, they were notable favourites for Tuesday night’s tie. Not only did Villa boast an overall squad market value of €615 million compared to Leipzig’s €518m, but they also went into the match having lost just one of their five group games to date. Their German opponents, in stark contrast, had yet to pick up a single point in the competition. And, unlike Marco Rose’s misfiring side, in many ways the English club could prove to be something of a dark horse in this season’s tournament. 

Villa’s squad are ready for Europe

Such are the riches of the Premier League that while Villa rarely take part in Europe’s top-tier competitions, their inclusion in this season’s tournament automatically makes them one of the best-equipped squads and a potential dark horse for the trophy. The aforementioned overall squad market value of €615m places Villa tenth among all clubs in this season’s tournament, ahead of continental heavyweights like Juventus, Atlético Madrid and even last season’s finalists, Borussia Dortmund. And when we rank each club by average market value of their players, Villa actually move up to ninth, leapfrogging AC Milan and sitting just below Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. In no uncertain terms, Villa have the player quality to rival any of these clubs. 

That should come as no great surprise, when we consider the money that Villa have spent on their squad. In the last five seasons the club have spent no less than €619m on signing players. Not only is that the eighth highest in Europe, but it’s higher than what was spent by all but four participants in this season’s Champions League. When we factor in money earned from player sales, Villa’s net spent in the transfer window stands at an equally impressive €258m. That places them tenth among all European clubs over the last five seasons, but most notably fourth among all clubs in this season’s European tournament. Which should certainly place some pressure on Unai Emery’s squad to prove that they can rub shoulders with the best players in the world and show that they belong. 

The Unai Emery factor

Another reason why Villa shouldn’t be underestimated in this season’s Champions League is down to the man on the sidelines. Emery has done a remarkable job since making the move to Villa Park, where he has turned the midlands club into a top-four club in the Premier League. And while fans will be delighted to be back in Europe’s premier competition, they should also bear in mind that their manager is something of a specialist when it comes to winning trophies with underdogs on the continent. Over the course of his managerial career, Emery has managed in over 190 matches across Europe’s many competitions and along the way he has guided a number of teams to some remarkable success. 

As we can see in the graphic above, over the course of the last 15 seasons, Emery has won silverware in European tournaments on no less than four occasions. Incredibly, Emery won back-to-back Europa League titles with Sevilla over the course of three seasons, before winning the tournament for a fourth time five seasons later with fellow Spanish side Villarreal. And while they may not match the highs of winning silverware, Emery’s ability to take Arsenal to the Europa League final in 2019, as well as impressive campaigns with Villarreal and Valencia in the Champions League certainly points to a manager that can achieve incredible results in knock-out competitions in Europe regardless of who he’s coaching and the players at his disposal. And when we couple that with the fact that his Villa squad are one of the most impressive in the tournament this season, there’s every chance that the Spanish tactician could cause another almighty upset in Europe.