What TV channel is Hibs v Aston Villa on? How to watch Conference League play-off for free

A sell-out crowd will descend on Easter Road as Hibs and Aston Villa go head-to-head in an eagerly-anticipated Battle of Britain clash on Wednesday evening.

The Europa Conference League play-off first leg will see a Hibs side who finished fifth in last season’s Scottish Premiership host a Villa outfit who secured European football for the first time in 13 years after coming seventh in the English Premier League.

Hibs have had to negotiate through two qualiyfing rounds to reach the play-off stage – overcoming Inter Club d'Escaldes from Andorra and FC Luzern from Switzerland – while Villa are playing their first match in the competition.

The winner of the two-legged tie will qualify for the group stages of the Europa Conference League. Villa are overwhelming favourites given their vastly superior resources but Hibs manager Lee Johnson is hopeful of causing an upset against Unai Emery’s side.

Hibs host Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League play-off round first leg at Easter Road Stadium. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

There is added spice to the fixture with Villa midfielder and former Hibs hero John McGinn making his return to Easter Road. The Scotland international was a key member of the Hibs side that ended a 114-year wait to lift the Scottish Cup in 2016.

Hibs v Aston Villa match details

The Europa Conference League play-off round first leg fixture takes place at Easter Road, Edinburgh on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. Kick-of is 5.45pm.

The match was brought forward from the usual Thursday evening slot due to a clash with Hearts’ home fixture against PAOK at the same round of the competition.

An early kick-off time was also set to avoid clashing with Champions League fixtures taking place across Europe later in the evening.

Is Hibs v Aston Villa on TV?

The match is being broadcast live free-to-air on the BBC Scotland channel. This can be found on Sky channel 115 (in Scotland) or 187 (in England and Wales), or on Virgin channel 108 (in Scotland) or 162 (in England and Wales), with coverage starting from 5.25pm.

Hibs v Aston Villa live stream

Those wishing to watch the match on their smartphone, tablet or laptop can do so for free on the BBC Sport website HERE or via the BBC iPlayer.

Hibs v Aston Villa team news

Hibs striker Dylan Vente is available despite suffering a blow to the face against Raith on Sunday, while Jake Doyle-Hayes has a chance of being back in the squad, but Dylan Levitt misses out along with long-term absentees Jojo Wollacott, Harry McKirdy and Chris Cadden.

Aston Villa’s latest signing Nicolo Zaniolo, who won the inaugural Europa Conference League with Roma in 2022, is in contention to make his Villa debut after joining on loan from Galatasaray until the end of the season on Friday.

Match odds

Hibs 12/1, Draw 11/2, Aston Villa 1/4 – oddschecker.com