Supercomputer predicts most likely outcome for Aston Villa in Europa League after latest win
Aston Villa already have a brilliant chance of reaching the Europa League final following their win against Basel on Thursday.
Unai Emery coached his side to an eighth consecutive win in all competitions when Villa beat Basel 2-1 away from home in the Europa League on 11 December.
Evann Guessand finally got back on the scoresheet with an early goal in Switzerland, before Basel pulled one back through Flavius Daniliuc's finish.
Youri Tielemans was terrific, as the midfielder's second-half strike was enough for the Villans to take another three points back to B6.
As things stand, Villa are in a very healthy spot in the competition, and Opta's supercomputer now has the Villans as heavy favourites to go all the way.
Aston Villa are the front-runners to win the Europa League
Not only are Villa striving for success in the Europa League, but they also want a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Emery will want to improve his squad in the January transfer window to add the necessary quality needed to help Aston Villa get over the line in both competitions.
After beating Basel, Opta now predicts that Villa have a 50.03 per cent chance of reaching the final of the Europa League, as well as being the overwhelming favourites to win the tournament.
- Villa are favourites to win the Europa League at 35.03%
- The second biggest contenders to win the major European competition are Roma, who have an 8.57% chance
- Opta have also given Villa a 64.35% chance of making it to the semi-finals
Villa have been predicted to win the Europa League for a while now, but even since September, the Villans have almost statistically doubled their chances of claiming the trophy, with the probability once at 21.6 per cent.
It's a time for Villa fans to get excited, but make no mistake about it, the win in Switzerland was fully deserved.
Unai Emery produced a tactical masterclass vs Basel
Basel was always going to be a tricky game for Villa to win, despite carrying great momentum into the clash.
Coming into the game, Basel had won their last two games comfortably because of their possession stats, dominating their opponents with ease.
However, Emery made sure Villa drowned out Basel in the possession department.
| Possession | Shots | Fouls committed | Tackles |
| 57% | 7 | 14 | 16 |
This prevented Basel from creating chances through their usual slow build-up play, while Villa remained aggressive out of possession, pressing from each angle where necessary.
Emery has shown his genius on multiple occasions, but his tactics in this match in particular cannot be overlooked after yet another big win.
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