The road to the Europa Conference League final in Greece is now clear for the remaining eight teams that are left fighting for the title. Aston Villa are the clear favourites to win the European title this term, and they will be heavy favourites in this opening leg at Villa Park against Lille.
Europa Conference League Preview
Aston Villa have been the long time favourites in the betting to win the Europa Conference League this season, as Unai Emery looks to land yet further European success. The West Midlands side finished top of the standings in the opening round of the competition, winning four of their six matches and suffering just a single defeat.
Villa scored 12 goals in the opening round, but they had a number of issues defensively throughout that opening round after allowing seven. They appeared to put those issues behind them in the previous round of competition after keeping clean sheets in both of their clashes with Ajax at the start of March. Villa pressed home their dominance in the second leg of that clash, landing a 4-0 home success against their Dutch rivals. Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey, and Moussa Diaby all found the net in the success.
Lille could present Villa with a slightly more challenging assignment this week, as the French side have failed to suffer a defeat across eight matches in the competition since the start of the group stage. But, it would be a slight concern that they have played out two draws in their four matches away from home in the competition.
After finishing top of their group in the opening round, Lille eased through to this stage of the competition after securing a 4-1 aggregate success against Sturm Graz at the start of last month. Lille also come into this match in solid recent form after winning three of their last five matches in Ligue 1.
Aston Villa vs Lille Head to Head
This will be the third time that Villa and Lille have collided. The Midlands side are winless in their previous two collisions, with the previous meeting between the sides in England ending in a 2-0 success for Lille.
Aston Villa vs Lille Prediction
This should be a much tougher challenge for the Villa than the odds suggest. The French visitors come into this match in excellent recent form, and we could see that giving them the confidence to claim a draw ahead of the return match in France next week.
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