Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne omitted from Aston Villa squad for pre-season friendly with Bayern Munich

Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne were omitted from Aston Villa’s squad named for the pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich at Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong on Friday, August 7, 2026, manager Unai Emery confirmed. The match concludes Villa’s Asia tour and sees Emery select a largely experienced starting XI from the players available.

Aston Villa have won both fixtures so far on their Asia tour and will seek to maintain a 100% record against Die Roten in Friday’s clash. Emery described the side he named as balanced, with a strong first-choice selection apart from a handful of youngsters, and he tailored the lineup with Bayern’s attacking threat in mind. The fixture takes place in Hong Kong as Villa wrap up their preparatory program.

Watkins is not part of Villa’s Asia tour group because he remains on holiday following the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Although he had limited minutes behind Harry Kane and Ivan Toney during the tournament, England manager Thomas Tuchel gave Watkins playing time in the third-place play-off against France, and the striker has not yet returned to full fitness.

Lucas Digne was left out as he recovers from a busy World Cup campaign in which he featured in most of France’s matches as Les Bleus finished fourth. The full-back has also been heavily linked with a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, a development the club noted could have influenced Emery’s decision not to select him for the tour.

Other Villa players who took part in the World Cup were also absent from the friendly squad; goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and centre-back Ezri Konsa are not included. In place of the unavailable starters, Emery chose Evann Guessand to lead the line as the lone striker, with the manager expected to deploy young attacker Brian Madjo in a position-switching role during the match.

Ian Maatsen has been selected at left-back in Digne’s absence, and Emery’s available lineup aims to blend match fitness and defensive cover against Bayern’s quality. The manager’s approach prioritises the players currently fit and present on the tour while leaving out those still recuperating or on post-tournament leave.

The friendly will be played on Friday, August 7, 2026 at Kai Tak Sports Park; in India the kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM IST and the match will be available live on the FanCode app and website.