Aston Villa Target Back-to-Back Champions League Wins As Fenerbahçe Visit Villa Park

Aston Villa will look to maintain their winning start to the Champions League when they welcome Turkish giants Fenerbahçe to Villa Park tonight, with Unai Emery’s side aiming to make it two victories from their opening two league phase fixtures.

The Villans began their European campaign with an entertaining 3-2 victory away against Club Brugge in September and will now be looking to build on that result in their first home Champions League fixture of the season.

While Villa have endured a difficult start to their Premier League campaign, their performances in Europe have remained impressive. Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, arrive in Birmingham after drawing 1-1 with Roma in their opening fixture, setting up an intriguing encounter between two clubs hoping to strengthen their positions in the league phase.

Aston Villa Looking to Extend Impressive European Winning Run

Villa have established an excellent record in European competition under Emery, winning 12 of their last 14 continental fixtures, including their victory against Club Brugge last month.

The West Midlands club enjoyed a memorable 2025/26 Europa League campaign, defeating Freiburg 3-0 in the final to secure another major European trophy. That triumph followed their run to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2024/25, when they were narrowly eliminated by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Their record at Villa Park has been particularly impressive, with Emery’s side unbeaten in their previous 13 home European matches, winning the last ten. They will be looking to extend that sequence against Fenerbahçe while securing six points from their opening two Champions League fixtures.

However, Villa’s domestic form has been less convincing. Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Brentford left them 15th in the Premier League, with Nicolas Jackson and John McGinn both scoring before the visitors secured a late equaliser.

Emery will be hoping that a return to European competition can provide another positive result, particularly with a second home Champions League fixture against Viking scheduled for Wednesday 21st October.

Fenerbahçe Looking for First Champions League Victory

Fenerbahçe return to the Champions League league phase for the first time since the 2008/09 season, having successfully negotiated three qualifying rounds to reach the competition.

The Turkish club began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Roma and have remained unbeaten throughout their European fixtures this season.

Managed by İsmail Kartal, Fenerbahçe also arrive in Birmingham following a convincing 3-0 victory against Rizespor in the Turkish Süper Lig, a result that moved them into fourth place domestically.

Their squad includes several familiar names, with N’Golo Kanté, Ederson, Milan Škriniar and former Villa midfielder Marco Asensio among those available to Kartal.

Asensio spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Villa Park, scoring eight goals in 21 appearances, and could now return to Birmingham as an opposition player.

Fenerbahçe will also be hoping to improve their recent record against English opposition, having failed to win their last five Champions League encounters against Premier League clubs, including qualifying matches.

Aston Villa Have Won All Three Previous Meetings

Villa have an excellent record against Fenerbahçe, winning all three previous competitive meetings between the clubs without conceding a goal.

Their most recent encounter came during last season’s Europa League campaign, when Jadon Sancho scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory for Villa in Istanbul.

Before that, the two clubs met in the first round of the 1977/78 UEFA Cup. Villa recorded a comprehensive 4-0 victory at home before winning the return leg 2-0 to complete a 6-0 aggregate triumph.

Wednesday’s encounter will therefore provide Villa with an opportunity to extend their unbeaten record against the Turkish club while continuing their impressive Champions League start.

Aston Villa v Fenerbahçe Team News

Emery faces several selection decisions ahead of Wednesday’s fixture, particularly in defence, with Matteo Ruggeri and Ian Maatsen unavailable.

Ruggeri suffered an injury during Villa’s draw against Brentford and is expected to be sidelined for more than a month, while Maatsen is continuing his recovery from an ankle problem.

However, Villa have received a boost with Leon Goretzka returning to the squad. The German international, who joined during the summer, could make his competitive debut after recovering from injury.

Nicolas Jackson is expected to lead the attack following his goal against Brentford, while John McGinn and Emiliano Buendía provide further attacking options.

Fenerbahçe will be without Jayden Oosterwolde and Mert Müldür through injury, although Kartal still has several experienced options available, including Kanté, Matteo Guendouzi and Romelu Lukaku.