Conference League

2024-03-07 - Ajax vs Aston Villa

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Ajax v Aston Villa
Football: UEFA Europa Conference League Last 16 First Leg
Thursday 7th March 2024 - Kick Off 5:45pm
This game is live on TV

Ajax

This has been a tremendously poor season for Ajax and being in 5th place in the Eredivisie will never be celebrated, even after the truly miserable start to the campaign. They have dropped down into the Europa Conference League and Ajax were very fortunate to find a way past Bodo/Glimt in the Play Off Round last month.

The reward for Ajax is another clash with a club from the English Premier League having been paired with Brighton in the Europa League Group Stage where they fell short. This time they are facing an Aston Villa team that is favoured to win the Europa Conference League and Ajax will be under pressure to find a positive result considering they have won just 1 of 5 home European ties this season.

Ajax had not won any of 6 games in all competitions in normal time having got the better of Bodo/Glimt in Extra Time in the Second Leg. They snapped that run with a 2-0 home win over Utrecht and that is a victory that has ended a sequence of 3 consecutive home draws for Ajax.

Aston Villa

On Monday the official accounts of Aston Villa were released for the 2023 and some massive losses have been recorded, which perhaps increases the pressure on the club to finish in the top four in the Premier League. Champions League Football will provide a boost for a club that will not want to fall foul of the Financial rules set by UEFA and the Premier League, while it may also mean some restrictions are set in the next transfer window.

Unai Emery and his players have to keep focusing on what they are producing on the field and there is a real confidence about this Aston Villa team that was shown in securing a late winner at Luton Town on Saturday. They will be feeling like the best team in the Europa Conference League and making sure that trophy remains in the hands of an English club after Aston Villa topped their Group earlier in the campaign.

Aston Villa could have really struggled to overcome the negative feelings after the late defeat to Manchester United, but they have won 3 games in a row in the Premier League. Attention turns back to the Europa Conference League, and Aston Villa have won 3 away games in a row. However, the side only won 1 of 3 away Group games in this competition.

A huge game is coming up on Sunday that could really have a major impact on the top four race so some changes may be made by Unai Emery. The European competitions have been important for the manager and it cannot be ignored that a strong campaign may contribute to the Premier League being given a fifth Champions League spot, which may end up benefiting Aston Villa too.

Head to Head

These clubs met in the Europa League Group Stage in 2008 and it was a fixture hosted and won by Aston Villa.

They are facing one another in Amsterdam for the first time in a competitive environment.

Prediction

Playing in European competition was clearly a massive goal for Unai Emery at the end of last season and now he has to find the balance for his Aston Villa team between winning silverware and earning a top four spot.

The Europa Conference League is back on the schedule for Aston Villa and the fans are going to be excited about this tie with European powerhouse Ajax.

However, the two ties sandwich a massive Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur and recent financial results have underlined the importance for Aston Villa to get into the Champions League next season. Fifth place would be good enough if Aston Villa can play well in the Europa Conference League and improve England's overall UEFA co-efficient and the momentum is with the team.

Some changes will be made, but a strong team is expected to start in Amsterdam and Aston Villa have already won in the Netherlands once already this season.

Ajax have been beaten by Premier League Brighton in the Europa League Group Stage and they have not been in very good form at any point this season. They did beat Utrecht at home in their last game here, but Ajax were 0-2 down against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League before fighting back for a 2-2 draw and they were second best for long periods of the Second Leg and somehow managed to work their way through.

This is a considerable step up if Aston Villa pick the kind of team expected and Ajax could struggle to stay with their visitors.

An expectation is on the home players to try and attack, but that could leave them vulnerable to Aston Villa and the away team can win a game that features at least two goals on the day.