Aston Villa are ready to upset the European establishment again, according to former goalkeeper Nigel Spink.
The 66-year-old – who won the European Cup when Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in 1982 – expects Unai Emery’s side to provide some shocks this season.
Villa return to the competition for the first time since 1983 when they travel to Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday.
They also host Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bologna and Celtic, and travel to Club Bruge, RB Leipzig and Monaco.
“It’s an open field and they’ve got a free shot in some ways. They will be one of those clubs who some won’t think about going far into the competition,” said Spink.
“We were in the same situation in ’82 – no-one gave us a chance and look what happened. I’m not saying they’re going to get to the final and win it, but they need to go and enjoy it.
“The pressure comes when you’re Manchester City and expected to get to the final. They can play their football, relax and see how many big guns they can frighten along the way.”
Spink made just his second Villa appearance when he replaced the injured Jimmy Rimmer after only 10 minutes of the final in Rotterdam 42 years ago.
He went on to make 468 appearances for the club, before leaving for West Brom in 1996.
Villa reached the Europa Conference League semi-finals last term, losing to Olympiakos, and Spink believes that experience will help them going into this season’s new-look Champions League, with the league stage not finishing until January.
He added: “I would argue it might be a bit easier on them this year. The Champions League is Tuesday and Wednesday, while last year they were playing on Thursday and then the Sunday. That becomes an issue and that’s a tougher competition to be involved in.”