(Credit: Imago)

Aston Villa v Roma preview: Team news, lineups, prediction

Alex is a lifelong Sunderland supporter who's been reporting on Mackem News since April 2025. Indeed, he started working for Breaking Media in April and has since graduated from St Mary's University as a NCTJ Gold Standard-accredited journalist, having completed his Master's degree in Sports Journalism. Alex previously worked for Football League World and has featured on the Roker Report, providing his opinion on all things Sunderland. While getting to the games is tricky, given his job, one of the highlights of his life was watching (and crying) as the Black Cats defeated Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium last season.

Published on:

04 Aug 2025, 7:25 am

Aston Villa have endured an uncertain summer on and off the pitch as they prepare for the new season.

The Villans have only secured one victory in five, with a 2-1 win over St. Louis City SC in the United States.

In terms of transfers, there have been minimal incomings, with Marco Bizot the latest arrival at Villa Park.

Aston Villa drew with Nashville SC in their most recent pre-season match and will want to record another win against AS Roma.

The Spaniard only has one win so far (Credit: Imago)

Aston Villa v Roma preview

Aston Villa will want to build some momentum at the end of their pre-season, with the Premier League campaign looming large.

Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen were on the scoresheet in Villa's 2-2 draw with Nashville; Watkins has been linked with a move to Man United.

Unai Emery's side have lost to Walsall and Hansa Rostock, while they have drawn with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Date	Result
16 July	Walsall 1-0 Villa
19 July	Hansa Rostock 3-1 Villa
27 July	Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Villa
31 July	St. Louis SC 2-1 Villa
2 August	Nashville 2-2 Villa

Villa's pre-season results so far

As for Roma, they have won all three of their pre-season games without conceding a goal after victories over Kaiserslautern, AS Cannes and RC Lens.

Malen was on the scoresheet for the West Midlands side (Credit: Imago)

Team news

Ross Barkley and Andres Garcia have not featured in pre-season and are undergoing rehabilitation.

The expectation is that the pair will not feature against Roma, with Barkley recovering from a calf issue which followed an earlier knee problem.

New Aston Villa signing Zepiqueno Redmond and Lewis Dobbin were absent from the US tour and are unlikely to feature against the Serie A outfit.

However, Emery has a host of available first-team players, with Emi Martinez, Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans all set to feature.

Barkley has not featured in pre-season (Credit: Imago)

Predicted lineups

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, Malen, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins

Roma: Svilar, Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Wesley, Kone, El Aynaoui, Angelino, Soule, Baldanzi, Ferguson

Aston Villa predicted XI vs Roma (Credit: Breaking Media)

Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Roma

While the form guide suggests Roma will be victorious at the Bescot Stadium, Villa will be expected to step up their performances.

All eyes will be on Evan Ferguson, who completed a remarkable loan switch from Brighton to Roma this summer.

The Republic of Ireland international has a point to prove and will want to get on the scoresheet against English opponents.

Although it is a tough match to call, a 1-1 draw seems like a fair prediction given the strength of both sides.

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Unai Emery