Paris Saint-Germain are odds-on favourites to pick up another European trophy this week as they face Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup.This is the annual meeting between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League, serving as a curtain-raiser to the new season. Wednesday’s game pits French champions and Champions League winners PSG against Premier League side Villa, who lifted the Europa League courtesy of a 3-0 win over Freiburg.PSG’s status as clear favourites to lift the trophy fits with their back-to-back Champions League triumphs. They arrive on the back of retaining their European crown in dramatic fashion, holding their nerve to beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a tense 1-1 draw, following extra time, in May.It was another statement result but the timing of this latest fixture may offer Aston Villa hope of an upset.Timing is a complication for PSG, with several of their World Cup contingent, including Ousmane Dembélé, Fabián Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi, only just returning to the fold this week. That means coach Luis Enrique may not have his strongest XI fully sharp or fully integrated.PSG’s system is well ingrained throughout the squad, and they are built around a fluid 4-3-3 that causes problems all over the pitch. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a constant threat cutting in from the left, and if Dembélé features, he will be given the freedom to drift and find pockets of space centrally. The full-backs are just as important to the picture, pushing high to overload wide areas and stretch defences.Behind all of it sits one of the best midfield trios in world football in Vitinha, João Neves and Ruiz, when all three are available. Vitinha, in particular, loves to drop deep, receive from the centre-backs and dictate the tempo from there.It was a similar pattern in the Champions League final, where Hakimi, Desire Doué and Kvaratskhelia combined to provide support for Dembélé further forward.New arrival Maghnes Akliouche adds another attacking option this summer, while the signing of Lucas Digne from Villa gives this particular fixture an early subplot, with the full-back facing his old club straight out of the gate.Villa go in as considerable underdogs — 7/2 to win in normal time and 2/1 to lift the trophy — and pulling it off would represent another big result in what has already been a landmark year for the club.Their task is complicated by the loss of Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea over the summer, while Youri Tielemans joined Manchester United and Amadou Onana is sidelined with a long-term knee injury.New signing Alejandro Garnacho now inherits a considerable stage on which to prove he can replicate that spark, while Villa also signed midfielders Johan Manzambi and João Gomes.Realistically, Unai Emery’s side will need to be patient and disciplined rather than expansive. Emery knows this PSG side well enough to understand that, while the individuals shift in and out, the underlying system and principles stay largely the same, and he will set Villa up accordingly.Without the ball, that discipline will be non-negotiable, but Villa’s real chance may lie in transition. PSG, still finding their rhythm this early in the term, could be vulnerable to being caught on the counter.Villa’s recent warm-up defeat to Bayern Munich, though a 2-1 loss, will have offered a useful gauge of what facing elite opposition demands and should stand them in good stead for the level of intensity this game in Salzburg will require.PSG certainly have the quality to win this comfortably if their returning stars settle in quickly, but Villa showed all last season that they are capable of raising their game for the biggest occasions.If they can stay compact and hurt PSG on the break, this has the makings of a tight contest.The most favoured outcome is a 1-0 PSG win at 6/1, but a draw after 90 minutes is 21/10, with 0-0 priced at 10/1, 1-1 priced at 6/1 and 2-2 priced at 13/1.If the game is level after regulation time, the match will go straight to a penalty shootout, with no extra time to be played. That was the outcome last year, as PSG drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur, then went on to win the tie on spot kicks.