Revealed: Why Aston Villa are playing Roma in bizarre friendly at 11,300-seater EFL stadium instead of Villa Park

Aston Villa will face Serie A giants Roma in a pre-season friendly in August, but the match will not be played at Villa Park.

Unai Emery's men have a busy pre-season schedule in place that will see them take on Midlands rivals Walsall, then Hansa Rostock in Germany before heading to the US to play Eintracht Frankfurt, St Louis City and Nashville.

A return to the UK will follow, with Villa lined up to host Roma on August 6.

However, the fixture will be held at Walsall's Bescot Stadium rather than Villa Park. Walsall currently play in League Two after suffering play-off heartbreak when they lost to AFC Wimbledon at Wembley last month.

The EFL ground has a capacity of just 11,300, meaning only a small crowd will be able to attend the match.

While no official reason has been given for the stadium change, it is understood that Villa are likely to be focusing on getting their pitch into prime condition, with the game coming just over a week before the Premier League season begins.

There are also four music concerts scheduled at Villa Park this summer, reducing the time Villa will have to get their pitch ready.

Guns N' Roses will light up Villa Park next Monday, before Chris Brown has his own show three days later.

Iconic Midlands band Black Sabbath are due to play at Villa Park on July 5, before Kendrick Lamar and SZA take to the stage on July 10.

The Bescot Stadium is roughly a quarter of the size of Villa Park, but the two grounds are just 10 miles apart, meaning the venue change should not affect fans' travel plans too much.

Villa's pre-season has become clearer and they will soon find out about how their 2025-26 Premier League season is going to shape up.

Next season's Premier League fixtures are due to be released at 9am on Wednesday, with Villa aiming to improve on their sixth-place finish from last term that saw them agonisingly miss out on Champions League football.