Aston Villa vs Lille – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Unai Emery’s side hold a 1-0 advantage from the first leg. Villa have won eight of their nine matches in this competition this season and are favoured to progress.

Aston Villa Form

There are two versions of Aston Villa currently. In Europe, they are flying with eight wins in nine Europa League fixtures. In the league, they’ve won just once in seven matches and look in danger of missing out on a top-five finish. A 1-1 home draw vs Leeds was followed by a shock 2-0 loss away to bottom-placed Wolves.

A 4-1 home thrashing vs Chelsea saw them allow 3.60 xG. They won 1-0 away at Lille in the Europa League first leg last week, scoring from their only shot on target. On Sunday, they lost 3-1 away to Man Utd despite an even affair on the xG count.

Aston Villa Team News

Villa are without two key midfielders in Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara. Matty Cash will need a late fitness test to determine his involvement at right back.

Jadon Sancho could start after being ineligible against his parent club on Sunday. Emi Buendia is also expected to shake off a knock to play some part in this clash.

Aston Villa Motivation

Villa are highly motivated to win this trophy. All attention will go on this second leg, with the best XI selected.

They won’t be too open and will look to make sure they don’t concede first. If Villa get the first goal, that may be enough to see them into the next round.

Lille Form

Lille began this year with a dire run of form – five straight defeats and just one win in ten matches overall. They kept faith with coach Bruno Genesio and they’ve slowly started to find their feet again. They have since won 1-0 at Angers and won 2-0 at Red Star Belgrade to progress past the playoff round in Europe.

A 94th-minute winner was enough for a 1-0 home win over Nantes before drawing 1-1 at home to Lorient after conceding late. They lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa in the first leg a week ago before a fine 2-1 win at Rennes on Sunday.

Lille Team News

Right winger Ethan Mbappe is out injured with a hamstring complaint. Striker Hamza Igamane is ruled out for the season of the season.

Young defender Ousmane Toure is out after knee surgery. Left winger Osame Sahraoui may return to the bench, where he will be alongside veteran forward Olivier Giroud.

Lille Motivation

Lille are playing well again and have regained confidence. They have a key game against Marseille on the horizon, but full attention will go on this trip to Villa.

They know that they need to score first in this second leg. Their matches tend to be low-scoring, so they could either win, or lose, by the odd goal.

Key Stats

• Aston Villa have won just 1 of their last 7 league matches
• Aston Villa have won 8 of their 9 Europa League matches this season
• Lille have lost 6 of their 11 Europa League matches this season
• Lille have won just 5 of their last 16 matches in all competitions
• Lille have seen Under 2.5 goals in their last 10 of their last 11 matches

Verdict

Villa may be struggling in the league, but they look a cut above their European opponents. I see them winning this second leg by a narrow margin.

Best Bet: Aston Villa win at 1.66

Alternate Bet: Aston Villa win and Under 2.5 goals at 3.55

Correct Score Tip: Aston Villa 1-0 Lille at 5.75