Aston Villa will continue their pre-season preparations against Hansa Rostock as they face the German side on Saturday afternoon at the Ostseestadion. The Villans have already started their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat to League Two side Walsall, and will be hoping for a better result here.
Hansa come off the back of a season where they finished in fifth place in the 3. Liga, just missing out on promotion to the German second division. They too are also well into their pre-season campaign, with wins against Rostocker, Anker and Greifswald already under their belt.
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Hansa Rostock vs Aston Villa prediction: Villans to earn first pre-season victory?
Key stats
- Rostock have scored in each of their last 10 games in total in all competitions.
- Villa have won three of their previous five matches in total across all competitions.
- Villa beat German opposition twice last season in the form of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
Correct score prediction: Hansa Rostock 1-3 Aston Villa
Given the superior quality in their squad, Villa should emerge victorious from this clash. However, Rostock will not make it easy for them, as they are much fresher and sharper having started pre-season earlier, and have won all three of their matches so far.
Pre-game odds and win probability: No odds available at the time of writing
- HOME: N/A
- DRAW: N/A
- AWAY: N/A
*odds not available at the time of writing
There are currently no odds available at the time of writing, so feel free to check out our dedicated Football Betting Tips Today page for our free expert predictions on today's other games.
Most recent H2Hs: First meeting between the two sides
These two teams will meet each other for the first time on Saturday afternoon, so it will no doubt be interesting to see how they match up. As mentioned previously, Villa played German opposition in the 2024/25 campaign, impressively beating both Bayern and Leipzig 1-0 and 3-2 respectively in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League (UCL).
Hansa Rostock preview: Stick with winning formula?
Rostock may be tempted to stick to the same XI if not a similar one to the team that has excelled in pre-season so far. Top scorer from last season Sigurd Haugen has left the club after his loan spell, which is a blow to the Germans.
Predicted lineup: Uphoff (GK); Neidhart, Ruschke, Pfanne, Gurleyen; Dirkner, Lebeau, Kinsombi, Schuster, Stock & Naderi
Club Friendly List 05/07/25
W
Greifswalder SV 04
2
Hansa Rostock
3
Club Friendly List 28/06/25
W
Anker Wismar
2
Hansa Rostock
3
Club Friendly List 26/06/25
W
Rostocker FC
0
Hansa Rostock
7
Germany 3. Liga 17/05/25
L
Hannover II
2
Hansa Rostock
1
Germany 3. Liga 10/05/25
L
Cottbus
3
Hansa Rostock
1
Aston Villa preview: Rotation again?
Unai Emery rotated his squad against Walsall last time out, with a mixture of first-team and academy players in the starting XI. We can expect a similar approach from Villa here against Rostock.
Predicted lineup: Marschall (GK); Bogarde Mosquera, Torres, Moreno; Kamara, Barkley, Ramsey, Young, Jimoh-Aloba & Burrowes
England Premier League 10/05/25
W
Bournemouth
0
Aston Villa
1
England Premier League 03/05/25
W
Fulham
0
Aston Villa
1
England FA Cup 26/04/25
L
Crystal Palace
3
Aston Villa
0
England Premier League 22/04/25
L
Man City
2
Aston Villa
1
England Premier League 19/04/25
W
Newcastle
1
Aston Villa
4
Player to watch: Jacob Ramsey
Jacob Ramsey got the chance to captain Aston Villa against Walsall last time out, and he may well get the chance to do so again as one of the more senior players in the team. The English midfielder scored a total of four goals and made a further seven assists in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, showing how influential he can be from the middle of the park.