Why did Ollie Watkins & Lucas Digne miss Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich pre-season friendly?

The Bayern Munich vs Aston Villa friendly is taking place today in Hong Kong.

Ollie Watkins’s Aston Villa are wrapping up their pre-season Asia tour with a friendly against German giants Bayern Munich at the Kai Tak Sports Park on Friday, August 7. The Premier League side have had a solid pre-season so far, winning both of their matches in the tour. They will look to maintain their 100% record against Die Roten in today’s clash.

Unai Emery has named a balanced side for the upcoming clash, keeping in mind the firepower possessed by the Bundesliga champions. Barring a few youngsters, he has named a strong starting line-up with the players available.

Following the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2026, a few big names have missed out on getting any minutes in the pre-season friendlies. Two such key players – striker Ollie Watkins and left-back Lucas Digne – are not in the squad for tonight’s game.

Instead, Emery opted for Evann Guessand as the team’s lone striker. He will certainly switch positions with young attacker Brian Madjo. At left-back, the Spanish manager has opted for former Chelsea full-back Ian Maatsen.

Also Read: Bayern Munich vs Aston Villa: Full lineups confirmed for pre-season friendly

Why are Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne not playing?

Ollie Watkins is not a part of Aston Villa’s Asia tour squad. The English striker is still on holiday following the conclusion of his FIFA World Cup campaign. Although he mostly played second fiddle to both Harry Kane and Ivan Toney up top, England boss Thomas Tuchel gave him some minutes in the third-place play-off match against France.

As a result, he is yet to be back to full fitness and is enjoying some time off, along with other members of the Villa squad that took part in the tournament. These include goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and centre-back Ezri Konsa. Neither of these players is in the friendly squad either.

As for Lucas Digne, the full-back is also recovering from a hectic World Cup campaign, having played in most of France’s matches as Les Bleus finished fourth. Moreover, the veteran full-back has been heavily linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, which might be another reason he was not picked for the squad by Emery.

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