It was still quiet outside Villa Park three hours before kick- off. The half-and-half scarf sellers and pin badges stalls were still being set up while those who had arrived early for hospitality hung around waiting for the stadium to open.

That is going to be in stark contrast to how the scenes will be at kick off as Aston Villa aim to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

Boasting a 3-1 advantage following last week’s first-leg victory at Club Brugge, Unai Emery knows former side Paris St-Germain await in the last eight after their penalty victory over Liverpool on Tuesday.

Emery remains wary of Brugge, despite their lead, having scored twice in the final eight minutes through Brandon Mechele’s own goal and Marco Asensio’s penalty in Belgium.

He said at his news conference on Tuesday: “We won there but we won in the last minutes with two actions that we had. That’s football, but the respect is massive. The respect of them is massive.”

Brugge beat Villa 1-0 in the league stage so already know what it takes to beat Emery’s men, who have been too inconsistent this season to – so far – guarantee they will be in the top four come May.

They have been unable to kill teams off – one of the reasons they are eighth and four points adrift of the top four in the Premier League – but must find their ruthless edge to ensure progression.