Aston Villa's Super Cup Challenge Without Emiliano Martinez

Aston Villa will walk out for the UEFA Super Cup without the man who so often turns big nights into his own stage.

Emiliano Martinez, fresh from another gruelling international summer with Argentina, has been left out of Unai Emery’s squad to face Paris Saint-Germain at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg on Wednesday evening.

The call is deliberate, not forced. Martinez went all the way to the 2026 World Cup final, where Argentina fell 1-0 to Spain after extra time on 19 July in New Jersey. Emery has decided that was enough intensity for now.

He is not alone on the sidelines.

Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins, both back from a draining World Cup run with England, will also sit this one out. The pair helped England finish third, edging a wild 6-4 third-place play-off against France on 18 July in Miami. Like Martinez, they have been parked for rest rather than risk.

“I gave them four weeks of holiday, and it was really necessary.”

No ambiguity. No half-measures. His World Cup trio will not be rushed back for a glamour tie, even one with a European trophy on the line.

Their absence hands a major stage to 35-year-old Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot, who is expected to start in goal against PSG. A seasoned understudy, he now steps into the floodlights with Kylian Mbappé and company likely bearing down on him.

For Villa, it is a balancing act. A European title shot on one side; the long Premier League campaign on the other.

Reports in Argentina indicate that Martinez is due back at Bodymoor Heath soon, with the plan for him to be ready for the Premier League opener against Brighton on 23 August. Before that, Villa have one final tune-up: a friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach next Saturday.

So Salzburg will see a rotated Villa, a tired World Cup core watching from afar, and Bizot standing where Martinez usually prowls. The question now is simple: can Emery’s calculated gamble on rest pay off when the real grind of the season begins?