'I'm not sure' - Former PL manager expresses doubts on Aston Villa's Champions League hopes this season

Former Newcastle United and West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has given his point of view regarding how Aston Villa will perform this season - and it doesn’t set a good omen for fans of the Villans.

Taking note of their participation in this year’s Champions League after they qualified for the tournament last season, Allardyce thinks this season will be ‘tough’ for Villa. He mentioned the strain that playing three times a week has on a squad - especially in their first year of European football for several years. As such, the Bolton Wanderers legend has doubts as to whether Villa’s squad will ‘hold up’ or not over the course of the season.

While Allardyce warned the Villa massive of the task that lies ahead of their team, he did express his admiration for head coach Unai Emery. In a summary of his time at Villa Park thus far, Allardyce mentioned that he is ‘massively impressed’ with the job that the former Arsenal boss has done.

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce said: “The first time in the Champions League is so, so tough. To play on Wednesday, then Saturday or Sunday, then Wednesday again. I'm not sure that the Villa squad will hold up, even though I have been massively impressed with Unai Emery.”

So far this season, Villa have got the Premier League season off to a respectable start. They defeated Leicester City and West Ham, but fell to defeat against Arsenal at Villa Park.

They have a gruelling Champions League schedule ahead of them. Emery’s men will play Young Boys, Bayern Munich, Bologna, Club Brugge, Juventus, RB Leipzig, AS Monaco and Celtic in the league stage of the competition (in that order). Their first game, against Young Boys at the Wankdorf Stadium, will take place on Tuesday, September 17.