Aston Villa team news: Unai Emery adds player to Champions League squad ahead of Viking FK game

By Darren Plant | 20 Oct 2026 16:57

Aston Villa take advantage of little-known UEFA rule ahead of Viking FK game

Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been added to Aston Villa's Champions League squad.

Unai Emery's side are currently preparing to face Viking FK in their third game of the League Phase on Wednesday night.

At his pre-match press conference, the Spaniard revealed a triple injury blow, one of them being Matteo Ruggeri.

The Italian has been ruled out in the long term with the hamstring injury that he sustained against Brentford after the international break.

However, Villa are in a position where they can directly replace the left-back in their Champions League squad.

Why can Aston Villa add Harwood-Bellis to Champions League squad?

Harwood-Bellis - a summer signing from Southampton - was one of a number of notable omissions from the squad that was selected prior to the start of the League Phase.

The Englishman, as per The Athletic journalist Jacob Tanswell, will now be part of the group for the Viking FK fixture after Emery took advantage of a little-known rule.

If an outfield player from List A is ruled out for at least 60 days, they can be replaced. That is the case with Ruggeri.

Although adding forward Brian Madjo was an option in theory, Villa's lack of depth in defence meant that Harwood-Bellis was the obvious choice.

Could Harwood-Bellis start for Aston Villa against Viking FK?

Emery made the decision to select just three recognised central defenders - Victor Lindelof, Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings - when picking his initial squad.

Lindelof has already racked up 900 minutes this season, the most of any player in Villa's squad. Mings is on 542 minutes and Torres on 461 minutes.

Therefore, the majority of Villa supporters would be delighted to see Harwood-Bellis paired with Mings or Torres in order to hand a rest to Lindelof.

Despite costing £30m when moving from Southampton, Harwood-Bellis's solitary appearance in a Villa shirt so far came against Coventry City in an EFL Cup third round tie.