Aston Villa v Lille

Aston Villa vs Lille Preview

This season's Europa Conference League has also reached the quarter-final stage and this Thursday features this upcoming clash between Premier League side Aston Villa and Ligue 1 visitors Lille when the two teams face off at Villa Park for this 1st leg encounter.

Aston Villa were held to a disappointing 3-3 draw at home by Brentford in the Premier League on the weekend, while Lille registered a second win on the trot in Ligue 1 after recording a 3-1 home win against Marseille.

Aston Villa are likely to be kicking themselves though as the west midlands club let a two-goal lead slip against Brentford and indeed found themselves 3-2 down with just 10 minutes remaining, but striker Ollie Watkins rescued a point for Villa who will no doubt be keen to return to winning ways on Thursday night.

The hosts have produced a bit of a mixed bag of results in recent times overall, as Unai Emery's side have collected just six wins from their last 16 matches in all competitions but wins on home soil against Nottingham Forest and Wolves in the Premier League along with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Dutch side Ajax in the Round of last 16 in the Europa Conference League should give the hosts plenty of confidence here.

Lille bring a solid looking seven-match unbeaten sequence into this 1st leg tie against Aston Villa which consists of four wins and three draws with victories achieved against Reims, Lens and Marseille in the French top flight along with a 3-0 win on the road at Sturm Graz in the previous round of the Europa Conference League.

However, Lille have also produced mixed results overall, especially away from home where Paulo Fonseca's side have managed to capture just two wins from their last seven outings while also being dealt three defeats on the road at the hands of Lyon, PSG and Toulouse, so the prospects of an away win at Villa Park on Thursday night look slim at best.

On the European front though, Lille hold a solid record overall in the Europa Conference League as the French visitors still remain unbeaten after 10 ties overall at this level, collecting six wins and drawing the other four, so Paulo Fonseca's side will be quietly confident that they can secure a positive result here to take back to France for next week's return leg.

Aston Villa v Lille Verdict

The bigger picture shows Aston Villa have been handed just four defeats within their last 19 matches in all competitions on home soil at Villa Park and having picked up 13 wins during this period as well, the west midlands hosts look to hold the edge in this 1st leg tie on Thursday night.

Therefore, our main bet will be Aston Villa win @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Aston Villa win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.50

Correct Score: Aston Villa 2-1 @ 8.50