Aston Villa without Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins for Super Cup vs. PSG

Aston Villa will be without Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins for Wednesday’s Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg.

Despite the trio being named in the squad last week, manager Unai Emery confirmed none of them will play a part in the showpiece due to requiring “completely necessary rest”.

This is in contrast to the France capital side, who have welcomed back a number of players who appeared in the latter stages of this summer’s World Cup, including Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Fabian Ruiz and former Villa left-back Lucas Digne, who formally signed for the Champions League holders on Sunday.

Luis Enrique’s team underwent a full training session on Tuesday evening, while Villa trained back in Birmingham before flying out to Austria.

Martinez, Konsa and Watkins were involved in this summer’s World Cup for the full duration, with the former playing in Argentina’s 1-0 defeat against Spain in the final. Konsa and Watkins, also stayed until the end, with England winning the third-place play-off fixture against France.

“They are not here because they finished the season on July 19 and I gave them four weeks to rest and it is completely necessary,” Emery said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

“Of course, if they were here, maybe we will have many more chances, but at the same time, I think PSG will be in same situation as us. We will prepare the game with players, even some young players, like we started with four weeks ago. Of course they are favourites.”

In their place, Villa have brought in young full-back, Triston Rowe, 20, into the squad, alongside 17-year-old forward Brian Madjo, who will add to Emery’s forward options alongside Tammy Abraham.

Villa will also be without Johan Manzambi, who is recovering from a knee injury, while Leon Bailey remains at home as negotiations for a move continue.

However, captain John McGinn has been passed fit after suffering a knee injury last week. The Athletic revealed scans showed the injury was not serious, with club sources not ruling out a return against PSG.