Captain aiming for victory at Camp Nou

John McGinn is aiming to enjoy the experience of playing at Camp Nou by helping Aston Villa pick up three points against FC Barcelona.

Matchday Four of the UEFA Champions League sees Villa match up to the La Liga champions at one of Europe’s most famous footballing arenas.

And as excited as the team’s captain is for the fixture, he will only enjoy it if his side come away with a positive result.  

“I’m 32-years-old but the trajectory of this club is allowing me to dream the same way I dreamed when I was nine, ten or eleven to play in front of the biggest crowds in the biggest arenas,” he said.

“This is a very historic stadium, but what the club is trying to do now is make this normal, make this a yearly experience and make Aston Villa compete with the best in England and the best in Europe.

“It’s a pleasure to be on this journey with the supporters; I’m sure they’ll enjoy their time tonight and tomorrow. Us, as professionals, we’ll only enjoy the experience if we have three points, and that’s what we’ll be trying to do tomorrow.”

McGinn has come up against several of the Barcelona squad during their respective stints in England, and they now form part of a team performing impressively domestically and in Europe.

While being wary of the quality Hansi Flick has at his disposal, the Scotsman believes in the ability of his teammates to cause them problems.

McGinn said: “They have world-class players in the starting XI, world-class players on the subs bench.

“We’ve played against (João) Cancelo, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon and Rodri in the Premier League and we’ve experienced their qualities. Not only do they possess amazing ability, the thing that impresses me most about them is their humility to work for the team.

“That’s the biggest credit when we watch Barcelona: they all work for the team. They seem to have more togetherness than some years ago. We haven’t had too much time to speak about this match because we recovered Sunday and travelled today, but we’ll respect the players they have who can hurt us from anywhere on the pitch, world-class players.

“We have our own players who can cause damage to Barcelona as well.”

Villa have returned three wins from as many games in the league phase, meaning Unai Emery’s team arrive in Barcelona three points above the Catalans.

McGinn has referred to the current team as “Villa 2.0” as they rebuild following a busy summer, and he’s happy with how things are shaping up ahead of kick-off at Camp Nou.

“Slightly better than some envisaged,” he said when asked to assess the team’s progress.

“I’ve got to give credit to the new players, it’s a lot of information that they’ve had to take in, but they’ve adapted well. They realise the structure that we’ve built during the four years that the manager’s been here gives players the best possible chance to show their capacity.

“We’ve seen that with some of the new players they’re playing with much more confidence, but most importantly, fighting for the team.

“Our success over the past four years is built on the fact no one player is bigger than the others: we play as a team, we defend as a team and we attack as a team.

“The new players have taken a lot of information on board and we’re starting to gel as a team. It’s very exciting but we just keep going. We have a demanding manager, a demanding coaching staff, who won’t let us stop and be comfortable.”