Supercomputer predicts most likely outcome for Aston Villa in Europa League this season
Aston Villa are the current favourites to win the Europa League this season, according to the Opta Supercomputer.
Unai Emery’s side finished second in the league phase of the competition, advancing straight through to the last 16.
Villa won seven out of their eight games, the same as Olympique Lyon above them, but the French side had a better goal difference.
The Midlands outfit are now one step closer to finding out who they will play next, after the first leg of the Europa League play-offs on Thursday evening.
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Aston Villa big favourites for Europa League
After finishing in the top two, Villa will either play the winners of PAOK versus Celta Vigo or the winners of Lille versus Red Star Belgrade.
In the first leg of the playoff matches, both away sides came out victorious – Celta Vigo beating PAOK 2-1, and Red Star Belgrade securing a 1-0 win over Lille.
However, with the second legs of the ties still to come, Villa could still play any of the four teams.
After the first knockout games of the competition, Emery’s side are massive favourite to lift the Europa League.
According to the Opta Supercomputer, Villa have a 41 per cent chance of winning the competition, far more than any other side.
The likes of Lyon, Porto and Roma sit at 10, nine and eight per cent respectively, with Nottingham Forest down at five per cent.
Unai Emery is Europa League master
It’s no surprise that Villa are such strong favourites to win the Europa League, given Emery’s record in the competition.
The Spaniard has won the tournament on four separate occasions, three times with Sevilla, and once with Villarreal.
Emery even recorded an unprecedented three-peat while at Sevilla, winning the Europa League for three successive seasons, something that nobody else has ever done.
Villa fans will be desperately hoping that their manager can add another title to his collection this season and lead the Midlands side to their first major trophy since 1996.
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