ASTON VILLA continue their USA pre-season tour with a game against RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Unai Emery’s side kicked off their stint in the States with a heavy 4-1 defeat against Columbus Crew at the start of the week.
Having won their previous two friendly matches, that defeat represented the Villans' first loss during pre-season to date.
With the Premier League season now on the horizon, Villa chief Emery will be hoping for an improved showing from his side in the Big Apple.
As for RB Leipzig, they are getting set for their first warm-up match ahead of the new Bundesliga season, which kicks off one week later than the Premier League campaign.
Marco Rose’s men ended last season strongly, avoiding defeat in each of their final 11 league games to secure to a fourth-placed finish.
How the bookies view it: Red Bulls give you win
RB Leipzig are 27/20 favourites on Bet 365 to hit the ground running with a win in what will be their first pre-season fixture of the summer.
Aston Villa are 13/8 (Bet 365) outsiders to emerge victorious while an all square affair in New York has been priced up at 12/5 with the same oddsmaker.
Head to head: Duo set for only second meeting
The two sides have crossed paths just once previously – a pre-season friendly fixture back in 2019, with Aston Villa earning a 3-1 on that occasion.
With both sides set to participate in this season’s new look Champions League, a first competitive meeting could be lying in wait later this term.
Players to watch: Archer aiming for the target again
Having re-joined his boyhood club from Sheffield United following their relegation to the English Championship last season, Cameron Archer grabbed a goal in Aston Villa’s aforementioned 4-1 loss to Columbus Crew at the weekend. The 22-year-old is as big as 7/2 (Bet 365) to make the net ripple at the Red Bull Arena.
After extending his contract with RB Leipzig until 2029, Benjamin Sesko will be looking to make his mark against Aston Villa this midweek. The Slovenian striker stands out for an anytime strike at 11/4 on Bet 365
Predicted line-ups
The likes of Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins are not on tour with Aston Villa in the states following their involvement at Euro 2024.
It’s a similar story for RB Leipzig, who will be without several of their Euro 2024 and Copa America contingent, with Dani Olmo and Xavi Simons their most notable absentees.
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi; Simakan, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; Baumgartner, Haidara, Seiwald, Poulsen; Openda, Sesko
Aston Villa: Gauci; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Moreno; McGinn, Rogers, Onana; Bailey, Archer, Philogene
Anything else catch the eye?
With an entertaining exhibition encounter anticipated, siding with goals makes plenty of sense at the Red Bull Arena in the early hours of Thursday morning.
As already mentioned, Aston Villa were on the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat against Columbus Crew at the weekend and there is plenty of scope for goals to flow again when they take on RB Leipzig.
Thus, packaging up both teams to score alongside over 2.5 goals holds plenty of appeal at 4/5 on Bet 365.
This International Friendly match between RB Leipzig and Aston Villa will be played on Aug 1, 2024 and kick off at 01:00. Check below for our tipsters best RB Leipzig vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
