Morgan Rogers explains why Aston Villa can pull off Champions League shock against Paris Saint-Germain

Villa head into Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg with a mountain to climb after Nuno Mendes’ stoppage time goal secured a 3-1 victory for the French club in last week’s first encounter.

But Rogers, who briefly stunned the Parc des Princes into near silence when he scored the opener before the hosts fought back, insists Unai Emery’s team are far from beaten and says a raucous Villa Park crowd can drive them to a famous win.

PSG, who dumped out Liverpool in the previous round, won huge plaudits for their excellent first leg showing, yet Rogers thinks Villa are better for knowing the challenge they will face.

He said: “There's massive belief. Most people wrote us off before the tie. The first leg I think we gave a pretty good account of ourselves. 

“Of course, there's details and areas that we want to improve on and learn from for the second leg but ultimately we know what they're like now, we've played them.

“We're kind of more comfortable in that sense of already playing them. Listen, we know there's a task at hand. We know what we need to do. 

“But we're excited - under the lights at home, playing in this competition in the quarter final, there's not many places better to be.

“If anyone's going to turn it around it's going to be us and it's down to us. I think we're excited for that challenge. 

“We're looking forward to it. We know it's going to be difficult. We're not saying we're going to do it by any stretch of the imagination but we're definitely going to give it a go and go out to win, 100 per cent.”

Villa are unbeaten in 17 matches at home, with boss Emery on Monday describing the club’s home as a “fortress”.

Champions League ties have already delivered several special atmospheres this season, with Villa beating Bayern Munich in their first match back in Europe’s elite competition.

Rogers, meanwhile, scored twice in the opening four minutes of January’s 4-2 win over Celtic.

He said: “Especially in the position we're in, the second leg being at home, I think that's massive for us. 

“I think we can create a real atmosphere. We've done it this season, not just Champions League but in the big league games as well. 

“They (the fans) are a massive push and a massive boost for us and we're going to need them again tomorrow night. 

“That energy, that feeling, that vibe is sometimes bigger than the actual game in the sense that that's what drives you on. 

“You can forget about all the tactics or the intricate stuff that we're going to work on. Sometimes it's just about that sheer energy and heart and determination within the stadium that we connect to the fans and the fans connect with us. 

“Sometimes that can just be enough to pull you through tough moments and get you to where you need to go. It's going to be massive. We need every bit of support and we'll feed off that, 100 per cent.”

Emery’s team selection promises to be intriguing, with the Villa boss having made 20 changes for the past three matches.

Rogers is one of the first names on the team sheet and has started every match in the Champions League but admits it is currently a “flip of the coin” who plays such are the options currently available to the manager.

“We've got a competitive squad that can compete on all fronts and you don't know who's going to play,” he said. 

“We all come into training the day before the game and sometimes the day of the game and we don't know who's playing. 

“It could be anyone, a flip of a coin at this moment in time, but that's the ability of the squad that we probably haven't had in the last year or so that we've finally got now. 

“That's why I think the performances are so strong, just because we've got so many options. People can stay a bit more fresh and we're all competing but we all want to win and we all want to get to the same goal.  

“That's massive and I think the manager bringing us in together, getting us aligned on the same path and knowing that if you're not starting, we've not got time to care about it, in the sense of we've got places we want to get to and we've got ambition. There's no time for it.

“To be fair the boys have been excellent, even if they've been playing or not playing, they've been disappointed, been out a few games, they've come in and done what they need to do and done their jobs and that's massive.”