Aston Villa face SC Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday — and this week's episode is a full lowdown on the opponents, covering their history, their identity, their key players, and the tactical shape of what awaits. It's everything you need to know.

The episode opens with a verdict that captures the problem succinctly: Villa have to shoot Bambi. Freiburg are 100% fan-owned, operate on a fraction of Villa's transfer budget, have the lowest squad turnover rate in the Bundesliga. The rest of the world will be rooting for the virtuous underdog.

Freiburg have been shaped over three decades by two long-serving managers and a philosophy that puts sustainability at the foundation of their success. Going into the final though they have been hit by a key injury after Suzuki, their Japanese attacking midfielder broke his collarbone earlier this month and is out of the final. His absence strips away the dimension that made Freiburg genuinely difficult to track in the Europa League and makes them a more straightforward proposition. Still, their set piece threat is real.

The show also lands on a clear position going into Wednesday: there is no alternative to winning. Champions League is confirmed. The pressure is gone. This one is for the trophy, and for the supporters who have waited thirty years.

UTV

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Credits:

David Michael - @myoldmansaid | Chris Budd - @BUDD_music / Phillip Shaw - @prsgame

This Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT

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Aston Villa beat Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park on Friday evening, sealing Champions League qualification through the league and sending supporters into the Istanbul week in exactly the right frame of mind. The game that looked like a distraction turned into the best possible preparation.

This week's My Old Man Said Post-Mortem opens with the moment that changed everything: the teamsheet. When Emery named the side that beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the European semi-final — essentially the expected starting lineup for Wednesday — the game instantly became something else. Not a Premier League fixture to be survived before the main event.

The version of Ollie Watkins that turned up against Liverpool needs to be sent First Class to Istanbul. The aggressive one who fires up the crowd from corners, gives teammates a dressing-down when they get something wrong, and is sharp in front of goal. The version Villa supporters have been asking for all season. He produced a brace and an offside goal that said as much as the goals that counted.

The main difference between the two teams was seen in the attitude of Alexis Mac Allister compared to John McGinn - one was cheaply rolling around feigning injury, while the other gave everything in a commanding performance.

Champions League football is now sealed for Villa and Istanbul is set up nicely. The mood is right. The squad is sharp and firing.

UTV

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Become a MOMS Member for ad-free & extra shows - MOMS Membership

Join the show’s listener Facebook group The Mad Few.

Credits:

David Michael - @myoldmansaid | Chris Budd - @BUDD_music / Phillip Shaw - @prsgame

This Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aston Villa face Liverpool at Villa Park on Friday evening — the last Premier League fixture before the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday. Champions League qualification still isn't mathematically confirmed through the league.

It should already be wrapped up. It isn't. And that shapes everything about how the Liverpool game needs to be approached — not as a send-off but as unfinished business. The reality is though, Unai Emery and his players will rest up, but will there be at least enough application to make a fight of the game?

This week's main show of the My Old Man Said podcast covers the ground before and after the game. Amadou Onana is touch and go off for Istanbul, Victor Lindelöf likely steps in again, and there's a brief but unavoidable discussion of the Wes Edens extortion story that's currently generating more headlines than any transfer activity.

Emery's Clipboard goes long on Ollie Watkins — who has just been named Aston Villa's Player of the Month for April, a month where he bagged his 100th Villa goal. The show sets that form against a wider argument: where have all the English strikers gone? The numbers go back to 1992-93, and the conclusion is pointed.

The Liverpool preview is the centrepiece. An aging squad, Mohamed Salah's dramatic decline in output, the Trent departure mismanaged, and a team that doesn't work hard without the ball.

The show finishes on the Aston Villa Existential Question: how many new players does this squad actually need in the starting eleven next season?

Istanbul might be a full stop, for this team, with a new era to launch afterwards.

UTV

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Become a MOMS Member for ad-free & extra shows - MOMS Membership

Join the show’s listener Facebook group The Mad Few.

Credits:

David Michael - @myoldmansaid | Chris Budd - @BUDD_music / Phillip Shaw - @prsgame

This Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.