Stiliyan Petrov weighs in on Aston Villa Champions League row ahead of Bayern Munich
Despite the 'expensive' ticket prices in place for Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, former Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov believes supporters will be in full voice to spur the team on.
Villa's president of business operations Chris Heck became an unpopular figure last month when the club's ticket pricing strategy was announced for this season's Champions League football, which has not been played at Villa Park since 1983. For home fixtures, starting with six-time competition winners Bayern Munich's visit tomorrow, season ticket holders had to spend £79 at most, or a minimum of £70 depending on the section of the stadium.
"They’re expensive, this is the straightforward answer," an honest Petrov told Gambling.com. "I understand where Aston Villa are coming from, but at the end of the day, football is about fans and you have to think about the fans as well. But as a fan, because I'm a fan and buy my own tickets as well, as much as we complain, we always go and buy it."
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The 45-year-old was proven correct as tickets for this specific match sold out in record time without reaching general sale, prompting thanks from Heck. Supporters went to even greater lengths to secure their spot at Villa Park, as tickets were found on resale sites in excess of £500.
Now Petrov feels the home support can be the all-important 12th man behind Unai Emery's team as they hope to inflict a first defeat of the campaign on Vincent Kompany's Bayern.
"Yes, I do believe so [that they can beat Bayern Munich on Wednesday], because it seems like the home form at the moment for Villa is really strong," he continued. "The fans will be behind the team as well and Villa Park does really rock when those fans are loud and supporting the team.
"It seems like the boys enjoy playing big games as well, and this is going to be the biggest game for some of them so far in their careers."
Villa won their opening league fixture against Young Boys comfortably, only to be outdone by Munich winning 9-2 against Dinamo Zagreb, so both will be seeking to maintain perfect starts in the competition. After Wednesday's fixture they face three more fixtures on the road against Club Brugge, RB Leipzig and AS Monaco, plus three at Villa Park against Bologna, Juventus and Celtic.
As the Bayern fixture holds so much weight to it - whether it be because it marks the return of the Champions League to Villa's home, the opponent's modern European pedigree or because of the history the two clubs share from the 1982 final - it remains to be seen whether supporters buy into Heck's ticket pricing against so-called lesser opposition.