Champions League
2026-10-14 - Aston Villa vs Fenerbahce
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Match Day 2
Wednesday 14th October 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Aston Villa
The Premier League form remains inconsistent after Aston Villa conceded late in the 2-2 draw with Brentford and there is work to do on the defensive side of the pitch. Unai Emery will be well aware of that, but his team have already picked up three points in the Champions League and Aston Villa are the current Europa League holders.
Two seasons ago, Aston Villa reached the Quarter Final of the Champions League and gave eventual Winners Paris Saint-Germain a huge scare in the Second Leg of that tie. Since losing to Olympiacos in the Conference League Semi Final in 2024, Aston Villa have won 12 of 13 European ties hosted at Villa Park.
Aston Villa's draw on Saturday means they have lost 1 of the last 6 games in all competitions, but they are looking for a bit more consistency in the results. The side ended last season with 6 wins from the final 7 matches played at Villa Park in all competitions, but Aston Villa have not won any of the 3 fixtures played here this season.
Injuries have been an issue for Aston Villa early in the campaign and they could be without Matteo Ruggeri and George Hemmings for this game. They would join a host of absentees within the squad.
Fenerbahce
Managers have been judged by failing to get Fenerbahce into the Champions League Group Stage and even those with the reputation of Jose Mourinho have come up short in recent years. Ismail Kartal has been able to succeed where others haven't though and Fenerbahce were able to win three Champions League Qualifiers to earn a spot in the new format of the competition.
Despite slipping into either the Europa League or Conference League, Fenerbahce have not really enjoyed a deep run in any UEFA competition for some time. A Quarter Final run in the Conference League is about as good as it has gotten, while Fenerbahce were beaten in the Knock Out Play Off Round by Nottingham Forest in the last campaign. The side have opened this League Phase of the Champions League with a 1-1 home draw against Roma.
Fenerbahce are unbeaten in 5 games in all competitions since a surprising 1-2 defeat to rivals Besiktas, while they have won 3 in a row. The side are not only unbeaten in 5 away games in all competitions, but Fenerbahce have won 4 of those matches.
Matteo Guendouzi was expected to be suspended after an altercation following the win over Lyon in the Qualifiers, but that has been appealed and he will travel with the squad.
Head to Head
Aston Villa won 0-1 in Istanbul back in January in the Europa League.
They have also beaten Fenerbahce twice when the clubs met in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup.
Prediction
Domestic form being produced by Aston Villa and Fenerbahce is pretty different, but it should also be noted that the former are playing in what many will feel is a much stronger domestic League compared with the latter.
However, no one should be taking things for granted at Villa Park after an inconsistent start to the Premier League season.
Unai Emery will be keen to see his squad at full health so he can really assess the players in what has been a transitional summer, but there have been elements to like. Aston Villa have yet to win a home League game, but they have lost just 1 of the last 6 overall in all competitions and the win in Brugge continues a run of fine European results.
Aston Villa are the Europa League Winners and this is a club that have won 12 of the last 13 home games in European competition. Many of those successes have been in the Champions League as well as the Europa League and Aston Villa won in Istanbul in January.
There will be a confidence about a Fenerbahce team that have come through three Qualifying ties to earn a spot in the Champions League. They have also begun the season in pretty good form and Fenerbahce have found some big results away from home.
Despite being Knocked Out of the Europa League by Nottingham Forest, Fenerbahce will take confidence from having won at the City Ground. A couple of seasons ago, Fenerbahce won an away game at Rangers as well, but Aston Villa may have enough in the final third to end up edging to a victory on Wednesday evening and maintain the 100% record in the Champions League.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Aston Villa 2-1 Fenerbahce
