Aston Villa
VikingAston Villa vs Viking, at Villa Park on Wednesday 21 October, brings a club from Stavanger on Norway's south-west coast to one of English football's great old grounds for a Champions League game. Viking are in the league phase for the first time, and they've just come from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 with Bayern Munich. I doubt anyone in Birmingham is taking them lightly now.
Kick-off is 20:00 BST, 21:00 in Norway and 3:00pm ET.
Villa Park. Photo: Arne Museler, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.
Thirty-four years between titles
Viking have played European football since the 1970s, but for a long time the big nights went to other Norwegian clubs. In 2025 they won the Eliteserien for the first time since 1991, which means a whole generation of supporters grew up without seeing them as champions.
They're top again this season, with 53 points from 22 games, three clear of Bodo/Glimt, who have a game in hand. Joint head coaches Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim and Morten Jensen run the team, an unusual setup that is clearly working, and Peter Christiansen leads the scoring with 15 goals in all competitions. Getting into the league phase took a 2-2 draw in Zagreb in the play-off round and a 3-1 home win over Dinamo, 5-3 on aggregate.
The night Stavanger held Bayern
Their first league-phase game was a 3-1 defeat at Stuttgart, a reminder of the gap between the Eliteserien and the big leagues. Then Bayern came to town on 13 October. Gianni Stensness headed Viking in front inside two minutes and Christiansen made it 2-0 on the counter. Bayern turned it round to lead 3-2, as Bayern tend to, before Herman Haugen headed in a late equaliser for Viking's first ever Champions League point.
They're direct, quick on the break and very dangerous from set pieces. The flip side is six goals conceded in two games, and they'll need to defend a lot better to take anything home from the Midlands.
Villa's odd start
Villa are here as Europa League winners. They beat Freiburg 3-0 in the final in Istanbul in May, their first win in that competition, which gave them a direct place in the league phase.
The league has been poor. They're 16th in the Premier League with five points from six games (one win, two draws, three defeats), six scored and 11 conceded. Saturday's 2-2 draw at Brentford followed losses at Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.
Europe has been kinder. On Matchday 1, John McGinn, Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson, with his first goal for the club, put Villa 3-0 up in Bruges before half-time, and they hung on to win 3-2 after a Nicolo Tresoldi penalty. Villa host Fenerbahce on Wednesday night, and Unai Emery has asked his players to make Villa Park a fortress again.
The injuries are mostly at left-back. Matteo Ruggeri hurt his hamstring at Brentford and Emery expects him to miss more than a month, and Ian Maatsen is also out. Amadou Onana has a cruciate ligament injury. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was expected to cover on the left against Fenerbahce.
Viking's team news will come after their Eliteserien game at the weekend. Both clubs will have played twice in eight days by kick-off, so expect some rotation.
What I expect from Aston Villa vs Viking
The clubs have never met in a competitive game. Villa have the better players and home advantage, and Emery's teams usually find another gear in Europe. Viking won't sit back, which should leave space for Villa's forwards. Still, with Emery patching up his left side and Viking this good from set pieces, the hosts can't afford a lapse.
I'll say Villa win 2-1. Viking have already shown against Bayern they can score against anyone, and a draw here would keep them in the race for a play-off place, which seemed fanciful when the draw was made.
Norwegian fans can follow Viking on TV 2 and the TV 2 Play app, and UK viewers get this one on TNT Sports.
TNT Sports 2
HBO Max UK
Paramount+ US
Movistar Liga de Campeones 4
DAZN Canada
Sony LIV
Stan Sport AU
MultiSports 5 FR
DAZN Germany
Sky Sport Max
Sky Go IT
DAZN Portugal
HBO Max BR
DAZN Austria
Arena Sport 1 BiH
IQiyi CNAston Villa vs Viking also streams free on DAMITV, no account needed, on our Champions League live streams page. Villa supporters can keep the Aston Villa live stream page handy, along with the Premier League streams hub, and Spanish speakers can use Champions League en vivo. Bayern host Arsenal the same night, and our Bayern vs Arsenal preview has that one covered.
