Aston Villa Under-19s captain Aidan Borland described the “all or nothing” nature of his side’s UEFA Youth League last 16 clash with Barcelona at Villa Park on Tuesday.
The Young Lions take on Barça in a single-legged affair, looking to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition at the very first attempt (ko 3pm GMT).
Borland admits excitement among he and his team-mates has been high ahead of the tie, but insists there is also a determination to get a result.
He said: “Obviously, a home game against one of the biggest clubs in the world, (you) can’t really ask for much more.
“Knockout games, only one leg, there’s an ‘all or nothing’ type mentality. It’s a good experience because there’s a lot of that in the game of football.
“I feel like since we got the draw and since we got through the last round, there’s just been a lot of excitement.
“It just one of them days where we’re going to need to go and play our own game and express ourselves, and test ourselves against an opposition where we’ll get a good measure to see where we’re all at.
“It’s why we play football. You want to compete against the best. I’d say there’s a good feeling about the game. Hopefully we can get the result.”
A second outing of the season at Villa Park adds an extra incentive to the game for Josep Gombau’s young side, and Borland is looking forward to turning out in B6 again.
After playing in Villa’s Vertu Trophy defeat to Bradford City under the lights in January, the Scot is keen to enjoy the occasion this time around.
He added: “I feel like it’s a different feeling when you play there. It feels like a nice occasion and a big game.
“But I feel like, during those games, you’ve just got to take it as another game and enjoy the occasion.
“We don’t obviously always get to play there, so it adds to the occasion and it’s nice. You’ve got to enjoy it, as well as getting yourself focused on the game.”
Aston Villa v Barcelona
