Aston Villa

The Champions League format as we know it is coming to an end. Here are UEFA’s proposed changes and what they mean for those involved…

This is the most instructive element of any football team — the way they get the ball into the box

Emiliano Martinez will be suspended for Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg against Olympiacos. The Argentina international goalkeeper, 31, was shown two yellow cards in the quarter-final second-leg win over Lille on Thursday night, but because one of the bookings came in the penalty shootout, he was not sent off. However, UEFA have confirmed that he will miss the first-leg of the last-four meeting because he picked up three bookings between the start of the competition’s group stage and the last eight. UEFA regulations for the Conference League indicate...

It's been a bad week for English clubs in Europe, but a fifth Champions League spot is not impossible – Aston Villa are the only hope

The Argentina and Villa No 1 was already disliked in France, but had the last laugh again with his shootout antics

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was shown a second yellow card in his side’s penalty shootout win against Lille in the Conference League quarter-final but was not sent off for the offence. The 31-year-old received a warning from Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak before being shown a second yellow card. A rule, however, allowed him to stay on the pitch for the remainder of the shootout, where he once again emerged as the hero. The Athletic explains why Martinez was allowed to stay on the pitch and win the contest for his side… Martinez was shown a yellow card in the 39th...

The FA Cup has scrapped replays from the first round proper from the 2024-25 season in a six-year agreement to restructure the competition. The 2025 FA Cup final will be played on the Saturday of the weekend of the Premier League’s matchday 37 — the penultimate round of fixtures — with league fixtures not played on the Friday night or Saturday to give exclusivity to the event, with the Football Association confirming the changes on Thursday. Additionally, there will be no further midweek rounds in the competition. This season’s FA Cup final will take place on May 25 at Wembley...

The 26-year-old defender has come a long way from charming his way through school – he's now key to Unai Emery and could be off to the Euros

The Athletic analyses how different life under the new financial regulations might be for the Premier League's haves and have-nots

The manager’s system and refusal to look at the downsides brought a famous Villa win - and a great chance of Champions League football

Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal should have scored five goals against Aston Villa in “one of the best halves we have played this season.” Late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins secured a two-goal victory for Villa in a result which ensured Manchester City ended the matchday at the top of the Premier League. City lead Arsenal by two points with six rounds of action remaining, with Liverpool — who lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday — behind the north London side on goal difference. Arteta told BBC’s Match of the Day he was “very...

We answer the key questions from Sunday's game at the Emirates Stadium

Chelsea's lasting agent commitments, the other clubs who spent big, how Spurs kept theirs relatively low

The Premier League's chance of claiming an additional Champions League place in 2024-25 took a hit this week - we explain why

Premier League clubs have unanimously agreed in principle to introduce new financial fair play regulations at a meeting in London on Thursday. The profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) that have capped how much money clubs can spend over the last decade are set to be scrapped from the start of the 2025-26 season and replaced with a similar “squad cost control” rule to the one UEFA adopted in 2022. The new system, which must still be fully ratified at the Premier League’s annual general meeting (AGM) in June, will work as a shadow to the existing PSR regime next season.