Columbus Crew vs Aston Villa: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Aston Villa's pre-season tour of the United States kicks off in the state capital of Ohio as Unai Emery's side face MLS outfit Columbus Crew.

Villa are preparing for an incredibly exciting season after a fourth-place finish saw them advance into the Champions League for the first time since the competition's rebranding in 1992.

The club have already been busy in the transfer market with the likes of Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana arriving at Villa Park, but Emery has lost midfield lynchpin Douglas Luiz to Juventus.

Villa's summer has started with a pair of 3-0 friendly victories over Walsall and Spartak Trnava. Saturday night's duel with Columbus Crew is the first of three friendlies Emery's side will play in the US before returning home ahead of their Premier League season opener against West Ham on 17 August.

The Crew are in the midst of a promising 2024 MLS campaign, although the division has been put on pause until the end of August. They sit third in the Eastern Conference and are hunting Lionel Messi's Inter Miami at the top of the standings.

Here is 90min's guide to Aston Villa's upcoming pre-season friendly.

Columbus Crew vs Aston Villa H2H record (All Time)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Columbus Crew vs Aston Villa on TV and live stream

Columbus Crew team news

Given their play-off hopes, Columbus may not go full strength for Saturday's friendly but will be keen to offer a just account of themselves against stellar opposition.

The hosts are without Evan Bush due to an arm injury, but he should be back in time for the MLS' return in August.

Columbus Crew predicted lineup vs Aston Villa

Columbus Crew predicted lineup (3-4-2-1): Hagen; Moreira, Camacho, Cheberko; Farsi, Zawadzki, Matan, Arfsten; Rossi, Ramirez; Hernandez.

Aston Villa team news

Wakins has not yet returned from international duty / Richard Pelham/GettyImages

Emery almost has a full complement of players available for Villa's tour, although Ollie Watkins has not yet returned from international duty. Youri Tielemans is among those who competed at Euro 2024 and is available for Saturday's game.

New arrivals Onana and Maatsen could start against the Crew, while Emiliano Buendia, who missed the entire 2023/24 campaign with a knee injury, has also made the trip.

Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Kortney Hause won't be featuring.

Aston Villa predicted lineup (4-2-2-2): Olsen; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Maatsen; Barrenechea, Dendoncker; McGinn, Bailey; Dobbin, Archer.

Columbus Crew vs Aston Villa score prediction

Villa have impressed in their two pre-season outings thus far and certainly aren't undercooked heading into their tour of the States.

However, they're facing a Columbus side in the middle of their MLS campaign and the American outfit will represent a step up in quality from what Villa have faced so far this summer.

Emery will happily rotate and use the extremities of his travelling squad in Ohio and, given Columbus' free-scoring nature, an entertaining bout should be in store on Saturday night.