Thank you as always for joining us today.

All the big talking points from today's build-up towards the Champions League quarter-final first-leg between Aston Villa and Paris St-Germain in Paris, along with anything else you've missed, can be found by clicking on the summary points at the top of this page.

We'll be back with you on Thursday with reaction to Wednesday's action.

Until then though, have a good one and please follow our live text coverage of PSG v Aston Villa, which will be live at 18:30 BST.

While Marcus Rashford will be hoping to star for loan side Aston Villa against Paris St-Germain, his parent club Manchester United are preparing for a European night of their own...

Manager Ruben Amorim will be holding a news conference later this evening to preview the first leg of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final against Lyon in France.

Check the BBC Sport website for the key news lines.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa are aiming high after returning to top-tier European club competition this season for the first time since 1982-83.

Villa famously beat Bayern Munich 1-0 to win the European Cup in 1982 and also reached the quarter-finals the following season, where they lost to Juventus.

The Premier League side have registered impressive wins against Bayern, Bologna, RB Leipzig and Celtic in the league phase of the Champions League this season before thrashing Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate in the last 16.

Having reached the semi-finals of the Conference League last season under Emery, they are hoping to make another European semi-final as they take on the Spanish manager's former side Paris St-Germain in the quarter-finals tonight.

They go into the game riding a wave as they are on a seven-game winning run across all competitions, which began with an FA Cup win against Cardiff City on 28 February and have also seen them beat Brighton and Nottingham Forest in their most recent games.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery says that Marcus Rashford is finally "playing free" after arriving on loan from Manchester United in January.

Rashford is expected to be a key figure again tonight after scoring a double against Preston in the FA Cup quarter-finals, and then scoring again in an away trip to Brighton in the Premier League.

Emery has been impressed with Rashford's rejuvenation.

"He is a good guy, he is humble, he is a very good professional player, he is really happy with his team-mates," said Emery.

"He has been demanding of himself. I think he is playing free. The first thing is to try and connect with him as a person, then after that to connect with him as a player.

"His process here is getting better as well. He is playing in two different positions, he started as a left winger, now he is playing more as a striker. We want to find how he can exploit his qualities as best as possible with us. This is the process we have, still work to do, still process to do, but the most important is his feeling.

"We are seeing him smiling. It is the best news we can have. I am seeing him happy, I am seeing him committed with everything we are doing."

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Uefa chiefs believe the reduction in the number of draws in the new league phase of this season’s revised Champions League is tangible evidence the change has worked.

The change for this season was from eight groups of four to a 36-team ‘league’ phase - with each side facing eight different opponents.

While a below-par performance from a number of big names early in the competition led to elimination in the play-offs for Manchester City - who had to face Real Madrid - and the ‘reward’ for Liverpool’s top seeding was a last-16 meeting with Paris St Germain, Uefa feel it has gone well.

One of the measures they are using for that is a reduction in the number of drawn games.

In the period between 2021-24 under the old format, 19.79% of group games were drawn.

In this season’s first phase, that percentage shrank to 12.5% as 18 of the 144 games finished level. Scottish champions Celtic, plus Italian trio Juventus, Bologna and Atalanta had the most draws, with three.

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is backing "mature" goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to handle the hostile reception he is expected to receive in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final against Paris St-Germain.

Martinez angered France supporters with his antics during the penalty shootout win in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, when his save from Kingsley Coman helped Argentina to victory.

He then showed off a Kylian Mbappe doll during the homecoming victory parade in Buenos Aires.

And on Tuesday he was pictured wearing a cap with a French cockerel alongside images of Argentina's recent triumphs as he embarked on the journey to Paris for the quarter-final first leg at Parc des Princes.

Martinez's latest actions, under the microscope at the pre-match media briefing with Emery, are likely to turn up the heat even further on the 32-year-old before the meeting with PSG.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Paris St-Germain are enjoying a season to remember - but know one of the biggest dangers to fulfilling their ultimate dream could be a player currently on their books.

Fresh from retaining the Ligue 1 title, the French side host Aston Villa in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, facing the unusual prospect of coming up against one of their own in Marco Asensio.

The 29-year-old Spain forward joined Villa on loan from PSG in January and has been a revelation, with eight goals and one assist in his 11 games for the Villans.

Asensio's form has helped Unai Emery's men enjoy a seven-match winning run, during which they have booked spots in the FA Cup semi-final and Champions League last eight.

They are also within touching distance of the Premier League top five and qualification for next season's Champions League.

Read here for the full story.

Image source, Getty Images

Unai Emery won seven trophies in his two-year spell at Paris St-Germain, but his time there was marked by a remarkable capitulation against Luis Enrique's Barcelona in the Champions League that is referred to as "La Remontada" (the Comeback).

Emery's PSG thrashed Barca 4-0 in the first leg of their 2016-17 Champions League last-16 tie and looked on course to contend for a maiden Champions League title.

But their dream turned into a nightmare as the Parisians were beaten 6-1 in a controversial return leg at the Camp Nou.

The La Liga outfit were 5-3 down on aggregate with two minutes of normal time remaining, but scored three goals before the end of stoppage time to win one of the greatest European ties of all time.

Emery returns to Paris with Aston Villa tonight to take on his former side and lock horns with Enrique for the first time since that eventful night in Barcelona.

Image source, Getty Images

Unai Emery has fashioned himself a reputation over the years for success in Europe with Sevilla and Villareal, while he also collected an impressive amount of silverware during his stint at Paris St-Germain, from 2016-18:

Sevilla

• Europa League x3

Villareal

• Europa League x1

Paris St-Germain

• Ligue 1 x1
• Coupe de France x2
• Coupe de la Ligue x2
• Trophee des Champions x2

Image source, Getty Images

Spanish manager Luis Enrique has won 14 major trophies in his coaching career so far at club level.

Enrique started his senior coaching career at AS Roma in Italy, before joining Celta Vigo in La Liga, however, he only stayed for a year and then took on the Barcelona hot seat where he oversaw 181 games in charge. After a stint as the Spanish national team manager, he took over as Paris St-Germain head coach in 2023.

Barcelona

• Fifa Club World Cup x1
• La Liga x2
• Champions League x1
• Uefa Super Cup x1
• Copa del Rey x3
• Spanish Super Cup x1

Paris St-Germain

• Ligue 1 x1
• Coupe de France x1
• Trophee des Champions x2

Rather than a tale of two cities, this tie is more like a tale of two managers, with Aston Villa's Unai Emery and Paris St-Germain boss Luis Enrique both boasting a proud track record of success in Europe.

We will have a look at their respective records and what happened when their paths crossed previously in the Champions League.

There are plenty of images coming in from Paris, where Aston Villa fans are gearing up to what they hope will be another landmark night of what has been a successful return to Europe's top-tier cup competition...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, BBC Sport

Switching to Europe's elite cup competition, Arsenal have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals after their brilliant 3-0 win against Real Madrid in the first leg at Emirates Stadium last night.

But the Gunners are not the only Premier League side who have set their sights on being crowned European champions.

Aston Villa face a challenging trip to Parc des Princes tonight to face recently-crowned Ligue 1 champions Paris St-Germain, who are considered one of the favourites for the title this season.

Under cup specialist Unai Emery, Villa will be hoping to set the foundations for what could be a famous win against the Parisians tonight.

Image source, BBC Sport

There are, of course, three British clubs in action in the last eight of the Europa League on Thursday.

Like Tottenham, Manchester United have been struggling for form domestically and will be hoping to redeem their season by adding a European trophy to their cabinet.

Ruben Amorim's United make the trip to face Lyon on Thursday in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

Scottish side Rangers, meanwhile, are up against Athletic Club of Spain in their bid to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

Image source, Getty Images

Wales manager Craig Bellamy told Sky Sports that Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson has "all the attributes to be a real top player" after the 23-year-old scored a brace against Southampton.

Johnson has now scored 16 times for Spurs this season, although Sunday's double was his first home goals in 2025, while he also struggled up front for Wales in recent World Cup qualifiers.

"We showed him a lot of Raheem Sterling's finishing, with a focus on his positioning," said Wales manager Craig Bellamy on the recent international camp. "We showed him this at the start of September when we first met up.

"I'm really big on that with the wingers. I expect the winger on the opposite side to be on the back post. It's very difficult for full-backs [to mark] but also with his running ability, there is no excuse for him not to be onto the back post."

Of his 11 goals in the Premier League, 10 of them have been scored from one-touch finishes with a shot conversation of 31%. For Wales, Johnson has scored five goals in 35 appearances

Bellamy added: "I class him as a young player. I would definitely class him in the development stage and there is loads that he can improve on. I believe he has the attributes to be a real top player, now it's to see where he wants to take it.

"I think he has that mindset but now it's games, confidence, and then I believe we will see a lot more from him."

Tottenham Hotspur

A final word from Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson on whether the players want to win the Europa League for under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou: "Of course, we want to win for everyone at the club - us players, the manager and all the backroom staff who have been through some tough times this season.

"It's down to our own mistakes. There were a lot of games we have not performed good enough. Winning this competition would be great and it would be an unbelievable feeling to win.

"We don't want to look too far past this game, but for us to win it for everyone at the club will be massive.

"I don't really care about what other people and the critics are saying. I love all the players in the squad, the management staff.

"We've created a really tightknit group. It's something that we just want to do for each other because we have had some tough times and there would be no better joy to celebrate it with people who have gone through it."

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson on scoring his first goals - for club and country - in nine matches against Southampton, to take his season tally to 18: "[My goal tally] is something that I'm definitely proud of. The aim was to always score more this year at the start of the season. There's a lot of work that goes into it.

"I am happy for [former club] Nottingham Forest and the season they are having, but I'm delighted to be here [after signing for Tottenham last season].

"I have loved every second. The size of the club, people within the club and the fans are all something that I could only have wished for when younger."

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson on the penalty incident with Mathys Tel: "All of us attacking players, if there is a chance to score from 12 yards without being contested, anyone would want to take it. But once the decision has been made, it isn't in my nature to argue or have a fight about who takes it.

"I've been in situations where people are really reluctant to let someone else have a penalty and it can put you off. Once the ball was with Mathys, I just wanted to support him. He is a quality player as well so it's not like I am doubting his quality. As soon as the ball was put in his hands, I backed him to score.

"I agree [with Ange Postecoglou on people making too much from the penalty incident]. I think we're going to go into competitions where it could go down to penalties. And there is so much on the line. It's about who is feeling most confident and who is performing the best. In this tournament, it's not really about giving people free goals, it's about scoring goals.

"If we get an opportunity to increase our lead or get a goal back, we have to make sure we need to score. So I agree with what he said."

Image source, Getty Images

Ange Postecoglou referred to Sunday's incident surrounding Brennan Johnson, when Mathys Tel stepped up to take a late penalty to seal a 3-1 win against Southampton.

Johnson had already scored twice and could have sealed a hat-trick, had he been allowed to take the spot-kick instead of nominated penalty taker Tel.

The Wales forward has been speaking about that after following the Spurs' boss in today's Europa League news conference.

Image source, Getty Images