Aston Villa will be without both Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins for Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup clash against PSG, with manager Unai Emery confirming the pair — along with goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez — are out of the starting lineup.
Speaking at Villa’s pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Emery explained the decision directly: “They are not here – Konsa, Watkins and Martínez because they finished their season on 19th July and I gave them four weeks to rest, it’s completely necessary. They are not here tomorrow”.
The trio are missing not because of injury, but because they were given time off after extending their seasons deep into the 2026 World Cup. Both Watkins and Konsa went as far as the third-place match with England, while Martínez played all the way to the final, where Argentina fell to Spain.
The Villa boss acknowledged the absences will be felt on the pitch, but pointed out that PSG face a similar situation with their own World Cup contingent. “Of course, if they were here, maybe we could have more chances. But, at the same time, I think PSG are going to be in the same situation like us,” Emery said.
Emery turns to the group that trained through preseason
Beyond the rest-related absences, Aston Villa also has a handful of players sidelined through actual injury. Leon Bailey is out with a muscular issue, while Chrislain Manzambi and André Onana are both dealing with knee problems.
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With so many absences, the Spaniard coach plans to rely on the group that’s been training together over the past month, including several younger players who have featured throughout preseason.
“Tomorrow we are preparing this game with the players we started, even some young players, four weeks ago. And tomorrow I expect to compete and try to face them with our capacity and our possibilities as well to beat them,” he added.
