Aston Villa will head into their final league phase fixture in the Europa League against RB Salzburg on Thursday night with a 1st-place finish still within reach.
Unai Emery's side have already secured their place in the last 16, but they still have the added carrot dangling to claim top spot.
After suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Everton in their last Premier League home game, Villa bounced back with an impressive 2-0 success away at Newcastle on Sunday.
That victory, combined with results elsewhere, means that Emery's men are now only 4 points behind leaders Arsenal.
As for RB Salzburg, they are currently sitting outside the top 24 and will need a win at Villa Park to have any chance of extending their stay in Europe’s secondary club competition.
With the Austrian Bundesliga on its winter break, the league leaders have been idle domestically in recent weeks, with their only competitive action coming in the Europa League.
How the bookies view it: Villa set for victory
Having won six of their seven Europa League matches this season, it's no surprise to see Aston Villa being priced up as heavy 4/9 favourites with bet365.
RB Salzburg are as big as 5/1 with William Hill to emerge from Villa Park victorious, while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 17/5 with the same.
Head to head: History book blank
Aston Villa and RB Salzburg will cross paths for the first time ever in continental competition on Thursday night.
The Austrian outfit last faced Premier League opposition in 2019, losing a 4-3 thriller at Anfield to Liverpool.
Players to watch: More joy for Jadon?
After scoring the only goal of the game during last week's 1-0 win over Fenerbahce, Jadon Sancho looks good value to either score or assist during this match at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
Kerim Alajbegovic bagged a brace during Salzburg's 3-1 win over Basel last Thursday, making the talented 18-year-old an eye-catching option to hit the target once or more this week at 4/5 with William Hill.
Predicted line-ups
With Aston Villa already assured of a top-eight finish, manager Emery may opt to shuffle his pack on Thursday night, though he will be unable to call upon the services of the injured quartet Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Ross Barkley and Youri Tielemans.
Salzburg arrive in the West Midlands with a relatively clean bill of health, with John Mellberg and Takumu Kawamura the only two players currently on the treatment table.
Aston Villa: Bizot; Garcia, Lindelof, Mings, Digne; Bogarde, Onana, Hemmings; Sancho, Guessand, Bailey
RB Salzburg: Schlager; Lainer, Gadou, Rasmussen, Terzic; Bidstrup, Diabate; Baidoo, Alajbegovic, Onisiwo; Vertessen
Anything else catch the eye?
Backing Aston Villa to win alongside under 4.5 goals will boost the odds to a much more enticing 10/11 on bet365.
This selection would have been a winning one in each of Villa's six victories in this season's Europa League.
The case for siding with this selection becomes even stronger when you consider that three of Salzburg's five defeats in the league phase have featured four match goals or fewer.
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