Aston Villa have a five-goal advantage over Hibernian as the two teams lock horns at Villa Park for the second leg of their Europa Conference League play-off on Thursday evening. There is a market to look at in this one which we feel offers good value so we have chosen it as our bet of the day.
Unai Emery’s side blew away Hibernian in Edinburgh last Thursday as they ran out 5-0 winners in the first leg. Striker Ollie Watkins netted a hat-trick as Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz also got on the scoresheet.
Villa and Emery may feel that the job is already done and that they will be going on a European tour this season. This could see the Spaniard make several personnel changes for the lineup at Villa Park for the second leg but they should still have too much quality for now manager-less Hibernian, following Lee Johnson’s departure at the weekend.
There is a lot of buzz surrounding the West Midlands club this year as to what they can achieve under Emery and they have had a strong start in the Premier League, winning their last two matches against Burnley and Everton, scoring seven goals across the two victories. In their 5-0 and 4-0 triumphs over Hibernian and Everton respectively, Villa won both halves of the two matches which is what makes this market seem like a shrewd selection for the second leg, even if key players are rested.
Villa boast a lot of quality within their ranks with the likes of Youri Tielemens, Nicolo Zaniolo having to settle for cameo appearances thus far. Emery will likely give the midfield pair a run out at Villa Park and the hosts should still be able to get by their Scottish opponents with relative ease. That is why the 21/20 price for Villa to win both halves again offers great value.
