Aston Villa vs Paris Saint-Germain facts

Aston Villa's first UEFA Champions League campaign is in the balance as 2020 runners-up Paris Saint-Germain come to Birmingham with a 3-1 advantage for the second leg of their quarter-final.

Unai Emery's side struck first at the Parc des Princes on 9 April, Morgan Rogers giving them a 35th-minute lead only for Désire Doué to level four minutes later. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put Paris in front four minutes after half-time and the newly-crowned French champions stretched their advantage through Nuno Mendes two minutes into added time.

While the English club are in the last eight of the European Cup for the first time since exiting at this stage as holders in 1982/83, Paris have made it this far for the fourth time in six seasons, and have won their last three quarter-final ties.

Paris are facing Premier League opposition for the second round in succession having overcome Liverpool on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw in the last 16, when Villa beat Club Brugge 6-1 over two legs.

The first leg was the sides' first meeting – the only one of this season's quarter-finals not to have been played before.

Form guide

Aston Villa

Record vs French clubs: W3 D2 L5 F8 A12
Home record vs French clubs: W3 D0 L1

Villa have now lost twice in France this season, also going down 1-0 at Monaco on Matchday 7. That have still never won away to a Ligue 1 team.

The Birmingham club beat LOSC Lille 4-3 on penalties in last season's UEFA Conference League quarter-finals after a 3-3 aggregate draw. That made their record in two-legged knockout ties against French clubs W3 L1.

Unai Emery's side were 2-1 winners in the home first leg against Lille – their only success in their last six games against Ligue 1 teams (D1 L4) and one of only three in their ten fixtures overall.

Villa's record in European Cup quarter-finals is W1 L1.

The Villans are taking part in the European Cup for the third time, and a first since 1982/83, when as holders they lost 5-2 on aggregate to eventual runners-up Juventus in the quarter-finals (1-2 h, 1-3 a).

Villa were involved in European competition for the first time since 2010/11 in 2023/24, losing 2-6 on aggregate to eventual champions Olympiacos in the Conference League semi-finals.

The Birmingham club have won ten of their last 12 home European games, the exceptions a 2-4 first-leg defeat by Olympiacos last season and this season's 0-0 draw against Juventus on Matchday 5. They also beat Bayern München (1-0), Bologna (2-0) and Celtic (4-2) in the league phase and Club Brugge (3-0) in the round of 16 second leg.

Villa have won seven of the 12 European ties in which they were beaten in the away first leg although they lost the most recent, on away goals to SK Rapid Wien in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League qualifying play-offs (0-1 a, 2-1 h). On the sole previous occasion in which they lost by a two-goal margin away, they came back to beat Zürich in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup third round (0-2 a, 3-0 h).

Villa's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
4-3 v Inter, 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round
4-3 v LOSC Lille, 2023/24 Conference League quarter-final

Paris

Record vs English clubs: W11 D9 L14 F44 A48
Away record vs English clubs: W4 D4 L9

This is Paris' sixth game against an English club this season, and a fourth in succession. Beaten 1-0 at home by Liverpool in the round of 16 first leg, they won by the same scoreline at Anfield and ultimately went through 4-1 on penalties.

That was Paris' first knockout tie against a team from England since losing 1-4 on aggregate to Manchester City in the 2020/21 semi-finals – a third successive two-legged loss. Their overall record is now W4 L5.

The first-leg victory against Villa was only Paris' fourth in their last 11 matches against English clubs although their third in four; prior to victory at Liverpool they also came from two goals down to beat Manchester City 4-2 at the Parc des Princes on Matchday 7. That 11-game run also features six defeats, including 2-0 at Arsenal on Matchday 2.

The win against Villa was only Paris' seventh in their last 21 matches against English sides, home and away (D4 L10); they had lost four successive games in England, and five of their previous seven (W2), before victory at Anfield.

This is Paris's ninth appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals, where their record is W4 L4. Last season's defeat of Barcelona (2-3 h, 4-1 a) made it three successive aggregate victories.

This is Paris's 17th campaign in the Champions League proper, a new French record; they had previously been level with Lyon. They have featured every season since 2012/13, reaching the knockout stages in all 13 of those most recent campaigns; they lost 0-1 both away and at home to Borussia Dortmund in last season's semi-finals.

The Parisians have won 22 of their last 45 European matches (D8 L15), including seven of the last eight (L1). Paris have been victorious in 18 of their last 38 away Champions League fixtures (D6 L14) including all of the last four.

The Parc des Princes outfit have won 13 of 19 European ties in which they won the first leg at home, most recently against Real Sociedad in last season's round of 16 (2-0 h, 2-1 a). They have won 3-1 in the home first leg only once previously, against Chelsea in the 2013/14 quarter-finals; they lost 0-2 away to go out on away goals.

Paris's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L1:
3-4 v Rangers, 2001/02 UEFA Cup third round
4-1 v Liverpool, 2024/25 Champions League round of 16

Links and trivia

Emery was Paris coach between June 2016 and May 2018, winning the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue in both seasons and Ligue 1 in 2017/18. Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe were both in the Paris squad.

Marco Asensio joined Aston Villa on loan from Paris in January. He scored seven times in 47 appearances for the French club since joining from Real Madrid in 2023.

Lucas Digne – who was a Lille player from 2005 to 2013 – made 44 appearances in all competitions for Paris between 2013 and 2015, winning two league titles, one Coupe de France and two Coupes de la Ligue.

Have played together:
Marco Asensio & Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid 2017.18)

Has played in England:
Vitinha (Wolverhampton Wanderers 2020/21 loan)

Have also played in France:
Youri Tielemans (Monaco 2017–19)
Diego Carlos (Nantes 2016–19)
Boubacar Kamara (Marseille 2005–22)
Amadou Onana (LOSC Lille 2021/22)
Ross Barkley (Nice 2022/23)

Born in the Paris suburbs, Axel Disasi joined Paris FC aged 16 in 2014, making his senior debut in December 2016. He also played for Reims (2016–20) and Monaco (2020–23) in his homeland.

International team-mates:
Lucas Digne, Axel Disasi, Boubacar Kamara & Lucas Hernández, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé (France)
Marco Asensio & Fabián Ruiz (Spain)

Emery and Luis Enrique met ten times as coaches between 2013 and 2017, the most famous the last, when Enrique's Barcelona defeated Emery's Paris 6-1 in the Champions League round of 16 second leg to overturn a 0-4 away defeat.

Emery's record against Enrique is W2 D1 L8. He was in charge of the Sevilla side that lost 5-4 to Barcelona in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup and 2-0 in the Copa del Rey final the following May.

Marcus Rashford's last-gasp penalty earned Manchester United a 3-1 win at Paris in the 2018/19 Champions League round of 16 and an aggregate victory on away goals.

Latest news

Aston Villa

Unai Emery's side were 3-0 winners at Southampton on Saturday, their eighth win in nine games in all competitions, the exception their defeat in Paris.

Marco Asensio missed two penalties at Southampton with all three Villa goals scored in the final 20 minutes by substitutes – Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen and John McGinn.

A 4-1 Premier League loss at Crystal Palace on 25 February is Villa's only other reverse in 14 games in all competitions (W10 D2).

Seven of Villa's eight league losses this season have come away from home.

Morgan Rogers has seven goals and five assists in his last 16 appearances in all competitions.

The Birmingham club have won their last four home games in all competitions and are unbeaten in 17 (W11 D6).

Villa set up an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace with a 3-0 victory at Championship club Preston on 30 March.

Winter signing Asensio has eight goals in his 13 Villa appearances while fellow new arrival Marcus Rashford has three in his last five outings.

Leon Bailey has missed the last five games with a knock.

Ross Barkley has not played since 10 January due to a calf injury, although he was an unused substitute in Paris.

Paris

Paris were without a game at the weekend; their Ligue 1 trip to Nantes has been rearranged for 22 April.

The first-leg loss to Liverpool in the round of 16 is the only one of Paris' last 18 games in all competitions they have not won and is their sole defeat in 30 matches (W25 D4).

Paris have scored 22 goals in winning their last seven games.

On 5 April a second-half goal from Désiré Doué earned a 1-0 home win against Angers that secured Paris' fourth successive Ligue 1 title with six games to spare.

Paris have won 11 league titles in the last 13 seasons and a record 13 overall.

Marquinhos is the first player to win ten Ligue 1 titles.

Paris are unbeaten in Ligue 1 after 28 matches this season (W23 D5), four short of Nantes' record for a single season set in 1994/95.

Doué has five goals in his last four Paris appearances. The 19-year-old now has five goals and six assists in Ligue 1 this season.

The French Cup holders reached this season's final by coming from two down to win 4-2 at Ligue 2 side Dunkerque on 1 April. Paris will play Reims in the final on 24 May.

Ousmane Dembélé has 24 goals in 21 Paris appearances in 2025 and 21 Ligue 1 goals this season, having managed three in 2023/24. He has scored 29 in all competitions in 2024/25; his previous best was 14 for Barcelona in 2018/19.

Dembélé also got France's second goal in a 2-0 second-leg defeat of Croatia in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals on 23 March, a match that marked Doué's international debut as a substitute; the teenager converted in a penalty shoot-out victory.

The win at Saint-Étienne was Fabián Ruiz's 49th consecutive appearance without defeat in the French top flight, a new Paris record. He is now undefeated in 50 and surpassed the previous mark held by Marquinhos, who went 48 league matches unbeaten between 2014 and 2016.