ASTON VILLA are really starting to hit their stride under Unai Emery and will be looking to keep the momentum going when they face AZ Alkmaar in a tricky Europa Conference League clash.
A run of four wins and a draw in their last five Premier League outings has sent Villa soaring up the table and there's even talk of them making a push for a Champions League slot this term.
They certainly looked top notch on Sunday as they blitzed West Ham 4-1 in the Midlands, with Ollie Watkins bringing up another bet for Slips Tips. But Villa find themselves in Europe's third tier competition this season as they bid to emulate the Hammers by going all the way in the Conference League.
After crushing Hibernian in the play-offs, Emery's side got their group campaign off to a bad start with a 3-2 loss away to Legia Warsaw on a night when two bets landed for me.
But they bounced back by beating Zrinjski Mostar 1-0 thanks to a late John McGinn header and the upcoming double-header with AZ Alkmaar will go a long way to deciding who goes through.
The Dutch side have started their European campaign in pretty much identical style to Villa, losing 4-3 away to Mostar before claiming a 1-0 win over Legia Warsaw back at home.
But they've been flying in their domestic league and sit just two points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven after eight wins and a draw in their first nine games. Since that win over Legia, they've beaten Ajax and Heerenveen so Pascal Jansen's side will fancy their chances against Aston Villa.
How the bookies view it
This is a tough one to call with AZ Alkmaar in such superb form but most firms make Aston Villa the favourites at evens. The Dutch side are as big as 13/5 at BetUK while the draw pays 5/2 at Bet365.
Head to head
These sides have never faced off before but Aston Villa have a perfect record against Dutch opposition, having beaten Ajax 2-1 back in 2008 in their only other match against a team from the Netherlands.
Players to watch
Evangelos Pavlidis has been a goal machine for AZ Alkmaar this season and his weekend hat-trick against Heerenveen made it 14 goals in 16 appearances. He's 13/8 at Bet365 for anytime scorer which looks quite generous given Villa rarely keep clean sheets.
Emery has rotated his side a bit for most of the European games so far and that could see winger Leon Bailey come back in. He scored off the bench against West Ham at the weekend and is 10/3 at Paddy Power for anytime scorer here.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both these sides have been involved in plenty of thrillers this season so we should see a few goals. But BTTS is just 5/7 at VBet, although over 2.5 goals is better at 8/9 with the same firm. Combining those selections in a bet builder will get you to around evens while over 3.5 goals pays 9/5 at 888Sport.
The midfield will be hotly contested and players in the thick of the battle look the best bet for some cards. Villa's Douglas Luiz is 7/4 at Bet365 to go into the back while Jordie Clasie is the same price for AZ.
There's not much between these sides so the half-time draw is another decent option and that pays 6/5 at McBookie.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between AZ Alkmaar and Aston Villa will be played on Oct 26, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best AZ Alkmaar vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.