Aston Villa will look to clinch their first European trophy in 46 years as they take on German side Freiburg in the final of the Europa League in Istanbul on Wednesday night.
After cruising past both Lille and Bologna, Aston Villa’s hopes of reaching the Europa League final looked in doubt, as they lost the first leg of their semi-final tie against fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground.
However, Unai Emery’s men turned the tie around seven days later as they maintained their 100% home record in Europe this season, thrashing the Tricky Trees 4-0 – on an evening where both of my selections landed.
The Villans have already secured their place in next season’s Champions League, as they defeated Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park last Friday – on an evening both of my selections landed again.
Similarly to their opponents, Freiburg had to overturn a one-goal deficit in the semi-finals of their Europa League tie, as they lost 2-1 in Northern Portugal to Braga.
However, Julian Schuster’s charges won the second leg 3-1 seven days later, also maintaining their 100% record at home in the Europa League this season – meaning they reached a European final for the first time in their history.
The Black Forrest outfit guaranteed themselves Conference League football next season following a 4-1 victory over third-placed RB Leipzig on the final Matchday of the Bundesliga last weekend, but know winning the final will secure them Champions League football for the very first time.
How the bookies view it: Villa favourites
It will come as no surprise that Aston Villa are favourites To Lift the Trophy, with bet365 pricing them at just 1/3 to do so, whilst the win inside 90 minutes is 4/6.
Freiburg are 12/5 underdogs to claim their first-ever European crown, whilst the win inside regulation time is 17/4.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Wednesday will be the first-ever competitive meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Ollie to fire Villa to the trophy?
Ollie Watkins is a man in red-hot form at the moment, as he has scored 11 goals and provided four assists across his previous 14 matches in all competitions, including a brace against Liverpool last time out.
The England international also has a goal contribution in six of his previous seven Europa League appearances – and is an appealing 1/1 at PaddyPower to Score or Assist in Istanbul on Wednesday night.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Freiburg will be missing the injured Max Rosenfelder, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Yuito Suzuki, whilst Patrick Osterhage is a doubt.
Aston Villa will still be without the injured Boubacar Kamara and the ineligible Ross Barkley, whilst Amadou Onana is a doubt.
SC Freiburg: Atubolu, Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Treu, Eggestein, Hofler, Beste, Manzambi, Grifo, Matanovic
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Lindelof, Tielemans, McGinn, Buendia, Rogers, Watkins
Anything else catch the eye?
Aston Villa come into this final as favourites, and despite not winning a major trophy in 30 years and a European title in 46, they have a man in the dugout who is a serial winner, particularly in this competition.
Unai Emery has 11 major trophies to his name – with a record-breaking four of those coming in this competition – and you’ve got to fancy him to make it five in the Turkish capital on Wednesday night.
The Villans have been victorious in 12/14 of their Europa League fixtures this season – with 11 of those victories featuring fewer than five goals – and a repeat pays an appealing 10/11 at Coral/Ladbrokes against a Freiburg side that don’t tend to travel well away from their Europa-Park Stadion base.
GambleAware