ASTON VILLA will take on Italian giants Roma in a pre-season friendly at a tiny EFL stadium.
Unai Emery’s men are currently on holiday following their sixth-place Premier League finish and run to the Champions League quarters.
ReutersAston Villa will play Roma in a pre-season ‘home’ friendly – but it won’t take place at Villa Park[/caption]
But they will be eager to hit the ground running in August after just missing out on Champions League qualification.
And Villa have a host of friendlies lined up, starting with a clash against Midlands rivals Walsall at the Bescot Stadium.
They then take on Hansa Rostock in Germany before travelling to America for games with Eintracht Frankfurt, St Louis City and Nashville.
Villa will then return to England where they will host Roma on August 6.
But the match will not be taking place at their home stadium of Villa Park.
Instead, Emery’s team will face Roma at the home of rivals Walsall.
The Bescot Stadium, where Villa are starting their pre-season, holds just 11,300 fans.
There has been no explanation as to why the match will take place there.
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But it is likely that Villa will be making final preparations to their pitch and arena before the start of the new Premier League season on Friday August 16.
Villa Park will host four concerts throughout the summer, which will require plenty of maintenance to set up and then dismantle.
GettyVilla will host Roma at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium[/caption]
Veteran rockers Guns N’ Roses kick things off on June 23, with pop star Chris Brown performing three days later.
Saturday July 5 then sees metal legends Black Sabbath play their final-ever show.
And the last concert takes place on July 10 with a performance from Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
Fans reacted with confusion to the announcement, with one saying: “Tell them to use their own ground.”
Another declared: “Absolute criminals.”
One noted: “State of it.”
Another added: “Villa using you for a training ground.”
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