Preview:St Louis City vs Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

Continuing a three-match tour of the USA, Aston Villa will seek their first win of pre-season when they meet St Louis City on Wednesday.

The Villans are building up towards another Premier League campaign, which starts in mid-August, and will take one step closer to their competitive return in Missouri.

Match preview

After starting their summer schedule with a rare defeat in the club's annual friendly against Walsall, Aston Villa then travelled to Germany, where they were beaten again by Hansa Rostock.

The third-tier side surprisingly fought back to win 3-1, as Unai Emery's second-half XI mainly comprised youth products without top-flight experience.

Villa's Basque boss has since welcomed back more of his established stars and taken them across the Atlantic for a trio of Stateside fixtures, seeking fitness and rhythm.

Emery saw his squad step up a gear at the weekend, drawing 2-2 with Champions League-bound Eintracht Frankfurt in Louisville: the Bundesliga side twice struck back after goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers, both set up by Donyell Malen.

Before returning to England for a friendly with Roma - then wrapping up a packed pre-season by meeting Marseille and Villarreal - the Villans must first conclude their brief U.S. tour.

Ahead of a third game against Nashville on Saturday, the Birmingham club will play St Louis, all with an eye on starting their league season at home to Newcastle United on August 16.

Coming into this contest on a run of five defeats from six games, St Louis are struggling badly in the MLS Western Conference and are set to miss out on the playoffs.

Most recently, they were beaten 3-0 by Dallas before losing 2-1 at home to Minnesota United - the latter loss was particularly galling, as the 10-man hosts had led until the 74th minute.

Over their last 20 league matches, St Louis have only posted two wins, so the possibility of picking up the wooden spoon continues to grow: only LA Galaxy sit below them in the standings.

Having started the season under Villa folk hero Olof Mellberg - who was fired after just 15 games, which produced 11 points and the same number of goals - English coach David Critchley then stepped in as interim manager.

However, despite increasing the team's strike rate, he has so far failed to turn things around, and the Missouri club's post-season aspirations have been all but ended.

St Louis City form (all competitions): L L L W L L

Aston Villa pre-season form: L L D

Team News

Still the subject of much speculation, Aston Villa's number one goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has yet to start in pre-season, so it remains to be seen whether he will displace new signing Marco Bizot on Wednesday.

Ross Barkley and Andres Garcia have been left back in Birmingham due to injury, while Alex Moreno and Leander Dendoncker are both seeking moves away; forwards Lewis Dobbin and Zepiqueno Redmond are set to leave on loan.

Though Unai Emery may blend first-teamers with rising stars, a strong starting XI is expected: Boubacar Kamara recently signed a new contract and should start in midfield, while in-demand Ollie Watkins is likely to feature up front.

Meanwhile, Joakim Nilsson has been ruled out for St Louis, and fellow Swede Rasmus Alm is still nursing a hip problem. Henry Kessler and Michael Wentzel are sidelined by hamstring injuries.

The hosts have recently signed defensive duo Jaziel Orozco and Fallou Fall, while South Korean winger Jeong Sang-bin could start again after making his debut on Sunday.

Former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki captains the side, with Brazilian striker Joao Klauss leading the line up front.

St Louis City possible starting lineup: Burki; Totland, Baumgartl, Orozco, Padelford; Lowen, Ostrak; Jeong, Hartel, Pompeu; Klauss

Aston Villa possible starting lineup: Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, McGinn; Malen, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins