Supercomputer predicts Aston Villa to buck 10-year trend vs Basel in Europa League
Aston Villa will aim to continue their good Europa League form on Thursday night as they travel to Basel.
Unai Emery’s side are well-placed to progress into the knockout stages, currently sitting third in the table with 12 points from five games.
Last time out, Donyell Malen grabbed a brace as Aston Villa beat Young Boys 2-1 to record their fourth Europa League win of the season.
The Midlands giants should come into the game in high spirits, after Emi Buendia’s injury-time winner gave them a 2-1 victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal last time out.
Aston Villa massive favourites to beat Basel
Emery’s side have only slipped up once in the Europa League this term, Villa losing 2-1 to Go Ahead Eagles away in the Netherlands.
Back at the end of October, Evann Guessand put the Villains ahead in the fourth minute, but the Dutch side turned the game around, before Buendia missed a late penalty.
However, Villa are expected to have no such problems on Thursday evening, going into the contest as big favourites.
According to the Opta supercomputer, Emery’s side have a 71.7 per cent chance of victory, with Basel only being given a 12.5 per cent shot at coming away with all three points.
There is a 15.8 per cent chance of the game ending all square and the points being shared between the two sides.
Aston Villa set to end Basel’s ten-year record
Basel come into the game having won each of their last seven home matches in the Europa League, and they haven’t been beaten at their own stadium in the competition since 2015.
However, the supercomputer predicts that Aston Villa will end their ten-year unbeaten run on Thursday night and come away with all three points.
Villa are on an impressive run of their own, winning eight of their last ten major European matches, with every single one of those victories coming in 2025.
Emery’s side will all but guarantee themselves a top-24 finish if they beat Basel, so they will want to make sure that they get the job done over in Switzerland.
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