Europa League
2025-11-06 - Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Europa League
Thursday 6th November 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Aston Villa
Unai Emery stated that his Aston Villa team were playing to the kind of level he expects before the 2-0 defeat at Anfield and the only frustration is the first goal that was gift-wrapped for the hosts. The ambition remains returning to the Champions League, despite the financial issues that prevented the squad from having serious additions to aid them in the summer transfer window and Aston Villa have two routes back into the premier UEFA competition.
The likelihood is that the top five places in the Premier League will all have Champions League Football attached, but Aston Villa can also follow Tottenham Hotspur by earning a spot by winning the Europa League. The side are 10th in the Europa League standings and Aston Villa are very aware of the importance of finishing in the top eight and earning a direct spot in the Last 16.
Aston Villa had won 5 in a row in all competitions, but have just hit a slight wall having lost 2 of the last 3 heading into this fixture. One of those defeats was at Go Ahead Eagles on Match Day 3 of the Europa League, but Aston Villa return home on Match Day 4 and have won 4 in a row at Villa Park in all competitions.
The manager is likely going to rotate some of the first eleven with another important League game coming up on Sunday.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Completely ignoring political issues when it comes to clubs competing from Israel is never going to happen and so Maccabi Tel Aviv will be visiting Aston Villa knowing they will not be backed by away supporters in the stands. Off field issues are going to have to be dealt with by the local authorities, but Maccabi Tel Aviv's squad have to focus on the football in their bid to finish in the top twenty-four in this Europa League Group.
A poor start has seen Maccabi Tel Aviv earn a single point in the section and they are 32nd in the standings and with considerable work to do to progress. Five games remain, but Maccabi Tel Aviv are also hindered by the fact they have to play 'home' games on the European continent in neutral venues.
Maccabi Tel Aviv have won 3 of their last 4 games in all competitions, but the exception is the defeat to Midtjylland in the Europa League. They have also been beaten by Dinamo Zagreb and earned a draw at PAOK and this is a big step upwards compared with those opponents. Maccabi Tel Aviv are unbeaten in 6 away games in all competitions and have won 4 of those matches.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive meeting between these clubs.
Prediction
You have to hope this is a fixture that can pass in the West Midlands without any off field issues making the headlines, but that looks incredibly unlikely.
Unfortunately politics have been overshadowing this fixture since the day the draw was made and Aston Villa Football Club have been working with the local authorities in their bid to keep everyone safe.
Things are charged up in the United Kingdom at the moment and so it is going to be hugely challenging for the players to focus on their job.
Earning three points.
Unai Emery will be reminding his players of what their main focus has to be over the coming weeks and months and Aston Villa need to bounce back after losing to Go Ahead Eagles on Match Day 3.
They can do that with a convincing home win, even if Aston Villa have yet to really hit peak form, and they should have a serious advantage in quality that will start and be able to come off the bench.
Maccabi Tel Aviv have performed well to earn their spot in the Europa League Group considering they are not able to actually host any fixtures in Israel. However, they have already found this level tough to deal with and now they are facing one of the favourites to win it all in May, which should show up over the course of the match.
It should be noted that Aston Villa have only won once at home by more than a single goal margin this season, but they can do that here against an overmatched opponent.
The Pick :
Aston Villa 3-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
