We got our Champions League Campaign off  to a perfect start with a 3-2 win at Club Brugge, thanks to goals from John McGinn, Emi Buendia and Nicholas Jackson. We have our first game at Villa Park in the competition tonight as we face Fenerbahce, an opponent we beat 1-0 in Turkey last season in the Europa League.

Home Discomforts

It was always going to feel strange with North Stand not being used for this whole season. It brought back my early years as a Villa fan, watching many stadiums being modified to ‘all seater’ to meet the demands of the Taylor Report.

I went with my Dad to the Crystal Palace game (1994/95) in which we drew 1-1 and saw that most of the Holte End was being rebuilt.

So far we have failed to win any of our 3 home games in the League, recording a 2-2 draw against Brentford last Saturday. However Europe is a different matter, and we hold a proud record under Unai Emery at Villa Park in European competition, having won 18 games at home, and have only been beaten once.

In the Champions League, only a controversial goal which was  ruled out in a 0-0 draw with Juventus prevented us having a 100% win record at home when we were last in Champions League.

Promising Signs

Despite another slow start to the season, there are some signs that the new signings are starting to gel. Zion Suzuki has been solid especially with his outstanding long distance kicks. Johan Manzambi is starting to show what a talent he is in the Midfield and Nicholas Jackson is starting to score.

Add more understanding in the defence, and with more players to return, I feel confident we will start climbing the league.

Moving Forward

We face a Fenerbahce side who started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against As Roma. A few ex Premier League winners that could feature tonight include Ederson & Nathan Ake (Manchester City) and N’Golo Kante, who won back to back Premier League titles at Leicester City (2016) and Chelsea (2017).

We should feel confident and, despite playing in a 3 sided ground, I know the fans will certainly play their part and hopefully the team will respond.

A win will put us in a good place as we head to Newcastle United on Saturday evening before being back here next Wednesday against the Norwegian outfit Viking.

Up The Villa!