Aston Villa Face PSG in Super Cup Without Emiliano Martinez

Aston Villa will walk out to face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night without the man who has so often been their last line of resistance.

Emiliano Martinez, fresh from another gruelling World Cup run with Argentina, has not been called up by Unai Emery for the clash at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg. The goalkeeper started the 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey on 19 July, where Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Spain after extra time, and his club manager has decided that is enough for now.

He is not alone. Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins are also missing from the travelling squad after their own summer heroics.

The English pair helped England to a third-place finish at the tournament, edging a wild 6-4 third-place play-off against France in Miami on 18 July. Both have been central to Villa’s rise under Emery, but both have been told to put their feet up a little longer.

Emery laid out the logic in a brief explanation to French outlet RMC, saying: “I gave them four weeks of holiday, and it was really necessary.” After a World Cup that stretched into late July, the message is clear: rest now, deliver later.

So Villa will turn to experience in goal. Marco Bizot, the 35-year-old Dutchman and Martinez’s understudy, is expected to start against PSG. It is a sizeable stage for a man used to watching Martinez dominate the spotlight, and it drops him straight into a meeting with one of Europe’s most fearsome forward lines.

The decision underlines where Villa’s priorities lie. Argentine reports indicate Martinez will be back with the squad soon and is being lined up for the Premier League opener against Brighton on 23 August. Before that, Villa have one last tune-up: a final friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach next Saturday.

For now, though, Emery goes into a European showpiece without three of his World Cup men. A gamble on freshness over familiarity — and an early test of just how deep this Villa squad really is.