The odds on Aston Villa to win the Europa Conference League have been slashed after the latest round of fixtures.
Unai Emery’s side faced off with Lille in the second of two quarter-final ties on April 18 and came out on top after extra time, seeing their odds slashed to 11/10 to go on and win the entire competition.
Unai Emery on Emi Martinez
Aston Villa were 2-1 up heading into the second leg in France but found themselves 2-1 down on Thursday after 67 minutes.
Matty Cash eventually pulled the away team back on level terms in the 87th minute, forcing the game into extra time and then penalties.
Villa keeper Emi Martinez - who had been booked earlier for time-wasting - was shown another yellow card for appearing to gesture to home fans. However, the Argentine was allowed to carry on as his initial booking was not carried over into the shootout.
Asked whether he and his players thought Martinez had been dismissed in the shootout, Emery said: “Yes. He is very important for us. On the pitch he has his personality and he played fantastic. He saved two penalty shots so of course I am very proud of him.”
Despite picking up two yellow cards vs Lille, Martinez will be available for Villa’s semi-final meeting with Olympiacos on May 2, which the Midlands outfit are 2/5 favourites to win.
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