High-flying Aston Villa are back in European action today when they take on reigning Swiss champions Basel at St Jakob-Park in the Europa League.
Both teams head into the encounter third in their respective domestic leagues. Villa are quickly gathering momentum and have turned their season on its head. Memories of only two points and one goal from their opening five Premier League games have been long forgotten. They have now won seven games in succession across all competitions including their last-minute victory over league leaders Arsenal Saturday past. Victory here for The Claret and Blue would all but secure qualification to the Europa League's Round of 16. With victories already to their name this season against the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal - two teams among those favored to go all the way in UEFA Champions League - and with Unai Emery at the helm, a manager with five finals and four titles to his name in this competition, they are right to fancy their chances of silverware.
For Basel, quite the story is beginning to develop in the Swiss Super League. Basel, last year's champions lag seven points behind the newly-promoted Thun. In the Europa League, defeat to Belgian outfit KRC Genk on Matchday 5 has them sitting in the precarious position of 24th - the last spot that enables advancement to the playoffs, and on the cusp of total elimination from the competition. Despite this, Basel have shown promise on home soil. The six points they have from their opening five matches in the Europa League have all come at St Jakob-Park - a 2-0 victory over Germany's VfB Stuttgart and a 3-1 win over Romania's Steaua Bucharest.
How to watch Basel vs Aston Villa online - TV channels & live streams
 | Paramount+ | Watch here |
 | ViX | Watch here |
For viewers in the United States, the game will be streamed live on Paramount+.
Spanish-language coverage of this and all other Europa League games is available through ViX. ViX is available through its own direct-to-consumer streaming app as well as others including Sling TV who offer it as an $8.99 add-on to existing plans.
How to watch anywhere with VPN
If you are abroad, you may need to use a virtual private network (VPN) in order to watch games using your usual streaming service. A VPN, such as NordVPN, allows you to establish a secure connection online when streaming. If you are not sure which VPN to use, check out GOAL's guide to the best VPNs for streaming sport.
Basel vs Aston Villa kick-off time
Action will get underway at St Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland from 09:00 pm local time. In the United States, this means a start time of 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time / 12 noon Pacific Standard Time.
Team news & squads
Basel vs Aston Villa Probable lineups
Probable lineup
Substitutes
Manager
L. Magnin
Probable lineup
Substitutes
Manager
U. Emery
Injuries and Suspended players
Injuries and Suspensions
- No sidelined players
Injuries and Suspensions
- No sidelined players
Basel team news
Xherdan Shaqiri is the player to watch for Basel. Shaqiri, now 34, spent a large chunk of his career in England and was part of the Liverpool side who won the UEFA Champions League in 2019 and Premier League in 2020. He has been Basel's talisman in this European campaign, scoring three goals.
Aston Villa team news
Emery is likely to rotate given the recent intensity of the Premier League calendar. Ollie Watkins is among those likely to be rested.
Tyrone Mings (thigh) and Ross Barkley are confirmed out.
Form
BAS-Form
BAS- Goal Scored (Conceded)
- 7/5
- Games over 2.5 goals
- 3/5
- Both teams scored
- 4/5
AVL-Form
AVLAston Villa
2
-
1
Arsenal
W
Brighton
3
-
4
Aston Villa
W
Aston Villa
1
-
0
Wolverhampton Wanderers
W
Aston Villa
2
-
1
Young Boys
W
Leeds
1
-
2
Aston Villa
W
- Goal Scored (Conceded)
- 11/6
- Games over 2.5 goals
- 4/5
- Both teams scored
- 4/5
Head-to-Head Record
The last and only time that these two teams have previously played one another came in the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Aston Villa won 5-2 on aggregate.