Key events
Ben Fisher reports on one of the key subplots of the evening.
The question related to Harry Kane and the easy answer was the equivalent of a tap-in but instead Ollie Watkins paused before offering a candid assessment of the nuanced dynamic at play. For Watkins, Kane is his England captain, a teammate but also, to put it bluntly, the guy he is trying to displace.
How’s Harry Kane doing in Germany this season, you ask? Five goals in five league games, four in one Champions League match, and a goal in the cup, too. He was an injury concern heading into this XI but starts.
Bayern make two changes from the XI that drew 1-1 against Leverkusen, with Konrad Laimer and Kingsley Coman in; Raphaël Guerreiro and Jamal Musiala go to the bench. Villa have one change from their 2-2 draw with Ipswich: Jaden Philogene, 19 years young, replaces Leon Bailey.
The teams
Here we go:
Aston Villa: Martínez, Diego Carlos, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Ramsey, Philogene, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins
Subs: Gauci, Zych, Cash, Barkley, Durán, Buendía, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey, Swinkels, Young
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Min-jae, Upamecano, Davies, Laimer, Pavlovic, Coman, Olise, Gnabry, Kane
Subs: Peretz, Ulreich, Goretzka, Sané, Dier, Palhinha, Guerreiro, Müller, Tel, Musiala
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to a very special evening at Villa Park. The German giants are in town for a rematch of the 1982 European Cup final, when Aston Villa triumphed 1-0 in Rotterdam. Withe, Shaw and Spink were just some of the heroes back then; tonight offers Watkins, Martínez and others the chance to become the same.
Bayern Munich, looking rejuvenated under new management, will hope to be party-poopers. They remain unbeaten this season, scored nine (!) against Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener and kept up with Leverkusen over the weekend. This should be good fun. Kick-off’s at 8pm BST.