Club America vs Aston Villa: Predicted lineups, team news, and streaming details

Aston Villa v RB Leipzig - Pre-Season Friendly
Aston Villa v RB Leipzig - Pre-Season Friendly / Vincent Carchietta/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Aston Villa are gearing up to face Mexican champions Club America at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday, August 3, in a crucial pre-season friendly. The match comes on the heels of two consecutive defeats for Villa, and manager Unai Emery is eager to turn things around before the Premier League opener against West Ham United.

The Villans have had a tough pre-season tour in the United States so far, suffering a 4-1 loss to Columbus Crew in Ohio and a 2-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in New Jersey. The latter match saw Diego Carlos receive a red card after a heated exchange following Leipzig's second goal. Despite these setbacks, Villa have three more friendlies to play before the start of the Premier League season.

Manager Unai Emery has been busy in the transfer market, strengthening the squad with notable signings like Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana and the return of Cameron Archer and Jaden Philogene. Emery aims to replicate last season's impressive fourth-place finish in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Club America have had a mixed start to their Liga MX campaign. They recently faced Chelsea in a friendly, losing 3-0, and began their domestic league with a surprising 2-1 defeat to San Luis. However, they have since accumulated six points from four matches and are eager to avoid another setback against Villa.

Amadou Onana, Eljif Elmas, Kevin Kampl
Aston Villa v RB Leipzig - Pre-Season Friendly / Vincent Carchietta/GettyImages

In their recent defeat to Leipzig, Unai Emery utilised 22 players, including returning stars Jacob Ramsey, Emi Buendía, and John McGinn. Amadou Onana showcased his versatility by playing both in midfield and at centre-back. With first-choice goalkeeper Emi Martínez on holiday following Argentina's Copa America triumph, Robin Olsen stepped in but was later substituted due to injury. This opens the door for either Oliwier Zych or Joe Gauci to start in goal.

Club America are expected to field a strong line-up, with captain Henry Martín leading the attack, supported by playmaker Diego Valdés and winger Javairô Dilrosun. New arrivals Cristian Borja and Igor Lichnovsky are likely to feature in defence.

The predicted starting line-ups for both teams are as follows

Aston Villa: Gauci, Cash, Bogarde, Torres, Maatsen, Onana, Tielemans, Bailey, McGinn, Rogers, Archer

Club America: Malagón, Reyes, Lichnovsky, Cáceres, Borja, R. Sánchez, Dos Santos, Dilrosun, Valdés, E. Sánchez, Martín

Where to stream

The match will take place at Soldier Field on Saturday, August 3, with a kick-off time of 4:30 p.m. local time in Chicago. Fans in the United States can catch the action on the Spanish-language channel TUDN, available for streaming on Fubo with a free trial for new users. Internationally, the match can be streamed on Aston Villa's in-house service, Villa TV.

Viewers across the globe can tune in at the following kick-off times

USA/Canada: 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT
UK: 10:30 p.m. BST
Australia: 7:30 a.m. AEST (Sunday, August 4)
India: 3 a.m. IST (Sunday, August 4)

As Aston Villa seek to put their recent defeats behind them, they will face a determined Club America side looking to make a statement. With both teams showing ambition in their preparations and transfers, this pre-season friendly promises to be an exciting encounter on the shores of Lake Michigan.

feed