Aston Villa return to Europa Conference League action on May 9, travelling away from home to take on Olympiakos in the second of two semi-final fixtures.
Despite losing at home last week, Aston Villa are 19/20 favourites to win in 90 minutes on Thursday, while Olympiakos can be backed at 5/2 to secure a victory in normal time.
Following the first leg, however, Aston Villa have moved from favourites to 4/1 outsiders to win the Europa Conference League this term. The Greek outfit, meanwhile, are 2/1 in the betting to go on and lift the trophy.
Olympiakos vs Aston Villa
The first-leg meeting at Villa Park did not go to plan for Unai Emery and co., who found themselves 2-0 down on home soil after just 29 minutes thanks to a brace from Ayoub El Kaabi. Ollie Watkins pulled one back for Villa in first-half injury time before Moussa Diaby levelled things up seven minutes into the second half.
But just when it looked as though Villa were back in the tie, Ayoub El Kaabi scored his third of the day in the 56th minute, with Santiago Hezze making it 4-2 to the away outfit 11 minutes later. Villa now need to score at least two without reply on Thursday to take the game to extra time and penalties.
Given Aston Villa’s form over the last week or so, this is likely to prove a tough ask for the Midlands outfit, who are now 5/2 to qualify for the final, with Olympiakos 2/7 favourites to book their place in the showpiece ahead of Villa.
Olympiakos vs Aston Villa betting stats
Here are some key Olympiakos and Aston Villa stats to keep in mind as you prepare to make your selections ahead of the game:
- Olympiakos’ last five games in the Europa Conference League have seen 22 goals scored.
- Olympiacos have not lost any of their last 8 matches and have scored two or more goals in eight of their previous 10 home games.
- Aston Villa have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five games across all competitions.
- Ollie Watkins scored his fifth Conference League goal of the season in the in the first leg -a joint-club record in a single campaign for Aston Villa, previously achieved by Gary Shaw in the 1982/83 European Cup and by John Deehan in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup.
- Ayoub El Kaabi became just the second Olympiakos player, after Konstantinos Mitroglou, to score a hat-trick away from home in a major European competition last week.
- Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton over the weekend saw them record their lowest xG in a Premier League game under Unai Emery.
Olympiakos vs Aston Villa Top Tip
- Ollie Watkins has scored 27 goals across all competitions this season. It is the most goals by a single Aston Villa player in one campaign when Villa have been a Premier League club.
Today’s Football Tips
There is no Europa Conference League action today, but there is one Champions League game set to take place, as Real Madrid face off with Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich travel away from home to take on Real Madrid, and we’ve got it covered with our bet builder of the day article, while for those of you looking to place an acca, we have our acca of the day lined up and ready to go.
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