Aston Villa fans set to watch Europa Conference League clash for FREE as TV rights revealed
ARMCHAIR Aston Villa fans will be able to watch their side’s first European tie for 13 years live on TV on Wednesday.
SunSport can reveal BBC Scotland has obtained the rights to broadcast the Battle of Britain first-leg Europa Conference League clash in Edinburgh.
They will broadcast the action from Easter Road on various satellite platforms, iPlayer and the BBC Sport Scotland website.
Villa fans have only been allocated 1,000 tickets for the eagerly anticipated cross-border clash at Easter Road, with stay-at-home fans fearing they faced a TV blackout.
However, Hibernian have struck an agreement with the Beeb which will allow fans to watch the action, with coverage starting at 5:30pm for the match which has a 5.45pm kick-off.
At the qualifying stage of the Europa Conference League TV rights are negotiated by the home club, rather than UEFA.
The return leg at Villa Park on Thursday, August 31 will be covered live by TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sports, with an 8pm kick-off.
Villa are appearing in Europe for the first time since 2010 after finishing seventh in the Premier League last season.
The club’s previous European campaign saw them eliminated by Austrian side Rapid Wien in the Europa League play-off round.
A victory against Hibernian would see Villa through to their first continental group stage since the 2008/09 UEFA Cup.
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Next week’s second leg will be followed by the draw for the group stage on September 1.
Villa are the only English club in the Europa Conference League, which was won by West Ham last season.