Aston Villa will look to continue building momentum when they face Viking FK in the Champions League at Villa Park on Wednesday night.
Unai Emery’s new-look side made a stuttering start to the season, but they are beginning to find their feet.
Villa have won each of their opening two Champions League matches, beating Club Brugge 3-2 in Belgium before thrashing Fenerbahce 6-0 at home last midweek.
A hard-fought 1-0 win away at Newcastle on Saturday extended the Villans’ unbeaten run across all competitions to five matches, with two of my recommended selections landing at St James' Park in the process.
Viking suffered a 3-1 defeat to Stuttgart on matchday one, but then claimed one of the most memorable results in their history by holding Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw last midweek.
Morten Jensen’s side are pushing Bodo/Glimt all the way in a fiercely competitive Eliteserien title race, with the two teams level on points after Viking’s 3-2 win over Fredrikstad at the weekend.
How the bookies view it: Villa set for another victory
Aston Villa are widely expected to make it three wins from three in this season’s Champions League, with a home victory priced as short as 1/4 with bet365.
A Viking win is trading at a towering 10/1, while a share of the Villa Park spoils is also deemed unlikely at 19/4.
Head to head: History book blank
It will come as little surprise that Aston Villa and Viking will be meeting for the first time on Wednesday night. Villa have previously faced Norwegian opposition in Europe, meeting Stromsgodset over two legs in the 1998 UEFA Cup and winning 3-2 at home and 3-0 away to progress 6-2 on aggregate.
Players to watch: Manzambi to make his mark?
Johan Manzambi’s match-winning strike at Newcastle on Saturday was further evidence of the influence he is having at Aston Villa. Backing the Swiss midfielder to score or assist alongside a home win gives us a 4/5 Bet Builder that looks good value.
With 14 goals in 22 appearances across all competitions this season, including one against Bayern Munich last midweek, Peter Christiansen looks good value at even money with bet365 to attempt two or more shots.
Predicted line-ups
Aaron Wan-Bissaka faces a spell on the sidelines after being forced off with a hamstring injury against Newcastle on Saturday. He has joined Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Matteo Ruggeri and Modou Cisse in the Villa treatment room, while George Hemmings remains a doubt.
Viking’s already difficult task at Villa Park is made even tougher by a host of injury absentees, including Anders Baertelsen, Martin Ove Roseth, Nick D’Agostino and Veton Berisha.
Aston Villa: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Mings; Kamara, Gomes; McGinn, Buendia, Manzambi; Jackson
Viking: Ostbo; Heggheim, Stensness, Falchener, K. Haugen; Bjordal, Bell, Askildsen; Tripic, Botheim, Christiansen
Anything else catch the eye?
Understandably, the bookies view this as a mismatch, so a little creativity is needed to find ways to back Aston Villa.
One Bet Builder angle worth siding with is Villa to score over 2.5 goals, with at least one in each half, at 10/11 with Bet365.
This combination landed in Villa’s home win over Fenerbahce and their away victory at Club Brugge.
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