Aston Villa kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign on Tuesday evening against BSC Young Boys. This will be Villa's first appearance in the competition since 1983, then known as the European Cup, whereas the Swiss Super League club has competed in Europe's elite competition since 2018.
Brief history of BSC YB
Founded in 1898, YB is situated in the beautiful Swiss city of Bern. Early on in its history, Young Boys became the most supported club in the city of Bern, and that remains true today despite local rivals FC Basel having great success in recent years. The club was founded by four students from the University of Bern and originally called it Fussball Club Young Boys. In addition to winning several Swiss Championships and Swiss Cups, they’re the only Swiss team to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. They’re known for their yellow-and-black club colors.
The club has won the Swiss top-flight title 15 times alongside seven Swiss cups and one Swiss League cup. Towards the end of the 20th century, the club went through a real slump and severe lack of success. It was only in the last two decades that the club has been restored to its previous glory. The club won back-to-back Swiss Super League titles in 2018 and 2019 and as a result, competed in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time.
Champions League history
BSC Young Boys have qualified for the group stages of the competition just three times before. The first came in 2018 when they reached this stage of the competition for the very first time and faced a tough group including Juventus, Manchester United, and Valencia. Despite a thrilling 2-1 win at home to Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus, Young Boys struggled on their first major European adventure and came bottom of the group.
BSC qualified again in the 2020/21 season but unfortunately suffered the same fate of finishing 4th in their group. They fared slightly better last season by finishing third in Group G behind Manchester City and RB Leipzig but their short history in the competition has not brought much success so far.
Stadium
The travelling Villa fans will be watching the game from the away end of the Wankdorf Stadium. Built in 2005, the stadium has a capacity of 32,000 and can provide a typically lively and intimidating European atmosphere. One thing the Villa players will need to get used to is the pitch. Unlike any pitch in the Premier League, the Wankdorf Stadium has a plastic 4G playing surface. This will likely mean that the pitch will be slower and the ball will stick to the surface more than it normally would. The slick passing on the watered Premier League pitches will not be as easy to produce on Tuesday evening.
Who are the stars in the current squad?
Darian Males
The midfielder is one of the Swiss side's most creative players and can play a variety of attacking roles. He has a record of six goals and five assists in just over 50 games for the club which seems to represent small attacking output. However, similar to the likes of Jack Grealish most of his work comes in the build-up to the play and he can unlock opposition defensive units with his clever passing and intelligence on the ball. Previously at FC Basel, where he produced a combined 46 goals and assists in a century of games for the club, he certainly knows how to hurt opposition full-backs.
Cedric Itten
The Young Boys No.9 has a useful goalscoring record throughout his career and has many qualities that could hurt Villa. Since signing for the club in 2022 from Scottish Premier League side Rangers, he has bagged 41 goals in 90 games. At 6ft 3 inches tall, his presence in the air will likely cause problems for the likes of Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa who are not particularly strong in terms of aerial duels. Should Young Boys flood the ball into the Villa penalty box then it is likely Itten will fancy his chances to get on the scoresheet as he likes to dominate with his large frame. He can hold the ball up well and bring others into play and can certainly score all types of goals.
Meschack Elia
Another stand-out player in the Young Boys side is 27-year-old attacking midfielder Meschack Elia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo international star has played almost 200 games for the Swiss club and is often seen as their go-to man when some attacking inspiration is needed. Elia has great pace and very good movement, and combined with his dribbling ability, makes him a very dangerous opponent.
BSC Young Boys form early on this season
The yellow and black outfit have had a poor start to their season. Despite defying many people's expectations and beating Galatasaray in the Champions League qualifying round, the team sit bottom of the Swiss Super League after six matches. Having lost their first three games of the season, they have since drawn the next three to see them sitting unhappily at the bottom of the table with just six three points and a -7 goal difference.
On Saturday, whilst Villa were producing an epic comeback to defeat Everton at Villa Park, BSC Young Boys were clinching their domestic victory of the season in the Swiss Cup. They defeated Swiss second-tier side Vevey 4-2 away from home, giving them some confidence that they will be able to score some goals on Tuesday night. The fact they will be playing a Villa side yet to keep a clean sheet so far this season will also give them some confidence.
UTV