Aston Villa Champions League prediction made by supercomputer
The Athletic’s Opta powered Champions League projections have predicted that Aston Villa will have to settle for a place in the knockout play-off round.
The top eight teams automatically qualify for the round of 16 and the Villans are currently in ninth place in the league phase with ten points from their opening five matches.
Teams from ninth to 24th go into the knockout play-off round with the winners of those ties progressing to the round of 16.
The model predicts that Unai Emery’s side have an 82 per cent chance of reaching the play-off round, a 17 per cent chance of qualifying automatically for the knockout stages and a less than one per cent chance of elimination from the competition.
Aston Villa could still seal shock progression
The Villans started their European campaign perfectly, with a 100 per cent record in their opening three matches, including a stunning win over Bayern Munich.
However, a loss to Club Brugge and a draw against Juventus has left their hopes of automatic progression to the knockout stages in doubt.
Emery’s side could increase their chances of progression with victory against RB Leipzig on Tuesday (10 December).
The Spanish manager is facing a selection dilemma with Jhon Duran scoring on Saturday when replacing Ollie Watkins in the victory over Southampton.
Villa face Monaco and Celtic in their final two league phase matches and will be expected to beat both teams.
The right results in all three matches could drastically increase the club’s chances of going through to the round of 16 automatically and reduce their fixture list at a crucial time of the season.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa could seal a transfer for a Juventus ace in January.
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