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After the turbulent first leg at the Parc des Princes, Aston Villa now want to strike back in Birmingham - will the English side manage to turn things around against the Parisians? Meanwhile, Dortmund want to show a better face after the nightmare in Barcelona.
Top 5 facts about the Aston Villa - PSG game
1. Emery almost untouchable at home
- Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Unai Emery has lost just one home game in a major European competition. The remaining record: eleven wins and one draw. Aston Villa are also considered to be extremely strong at home at Villa Park. Last home defeat: 2:4 against Olympiakos in May 2024.
2. PSG threaten a questionable record
- Paris Saint-Germain have already been eliminated from the Champions League three times despite winning the first leg of a knockout round tie by at least two goals. Should this happen again against Aston Villa, PSG would have the most such exits in the competition's history.
3. Dembélé scores away from home like never before
- Ousmane Dembélé has scored six goals in his last three away games in the Champions League - twice as many as in his first 24 games away from home. With another goal, he would become the second PSG player ever to score in four consecutive away games in the top flight.
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4. PSG more balanced offensively than ever before
- Paris Saint-Germain have four players with at least five scoring points each this season - a first for the club. In addition, three other players have scored four goals each. This breadth in attacking play has been unique for PSG so far.
5. Villa struggle against French teams
- Aston Villa have lost three of their last four European Cup matches against French clubs under Unai Emery - including the first leg against PSG. The only win in this series came at Villa Park, 2-1 against Lille in April 2024.
Top 5 facts about the BVB - Barcelona match
1. BVB are still waiting for their first win against Barça
- Borussia Dortmund are still winless in six European Cup duels with FC Barcelona - two draws, four defeats. If they also fail to win today, Dortmund will end their longest winless streak against a European team: seven games without a win, as they once did against Rangers between 1966 and 1999.
2. the statistics clearly speak against BVB
- The 4-0 defeat in the first leg was the 160th time that a team has lost the first leg of a knockout round tie in the European Cup by at least four goals. Only once before has FC Barcelona managed to turn things around - in the legendary 6:1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 in 2016/17.
3 Barça reverse the trend against German teams
- Barcelona have won all three games against Bundesliga teams this Champions League season: 4:1 against Bayern Munich and 3:2 and 4:0 against Borussia Dortmund. Prior to that, Barça had lost five games in a row against German clubs - with an overall result of 2:19.
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4. Raphinha on the brink of a historic milestone
- Raphinha has already been directly involved in 19 goals in 11 appearances this Champions League season (12 goals, 7 assists). With just one more goal, he would become only the third player ever to reach the 20-goal mark in a single Champions League season - after Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.
5 Barça with historic attacking power
- Barcelona currently average 3.3 goals per Champions League match - the second-highest average of any team in a European Cup season with at least ten appearances. This figure was only surpassed by Bayern in 2019/20 with 3.9 goals per game. Fun fact: their former coach Hansi Flick is now at Barça.
