Europa Conference League predictions: Villa and Lille among contenders

Steve Davies

Spotlight

Ollie Watkins will be hoping to score the goals that send Aston Villa through to the knockout stages of the Conference League

Recommended bets
- Aston Villa to win outright
- Lille to win outright

Aston Villa have big boots to fill in the Europa Conference League following West Ham's triumph last season, but Unai Emery's side should have more than enough to get through the group stage and can go far in the third-tier competition.

Villa, the Premier League's lone flag-bearers in the group phase, have been paired alongside Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Polish heavyweights Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Qualifying fireworks should Villa up for autumn glory

Aston Villa's return to Europe has already gone much better than the last time they were involved in UEFA competition, the 2010-11 Europa League campaign where defeat by Rapid Vienna meant they did not even make the group stage.

More than a decade later and Villa made no last-minute mistakes this time, crushing Scottish side Hibernian 8-0 on aggregate to reach the main group phase.

Thrown into pot two in the draw there would have been a couple from pot one who would have made them wary, notably Eintracht Frankfurt and Fenerbahce.

But AZ, even though they were Conference League semi-finalists last season, probably will not be filling Ollie Watkins and co with too much in the way of dread.

Villa are 4/1 with LiveScore Bet to win the whole competition, a price that says they cruise through the group stage.

The latest Europa Conference League odds are available on LiveScore Bet

Dons dismayed at Eintracht draw

If Aston Villa would not have wanted Eintracht Frankfurt in the group stage, then the same went for Aberdeen — unluckily for the Scottish side, their prayers went unanswered.

Being in pot four having dropped out of the Europa League following defeat by Swedish side Hacken, the Dons knew tough challenges lay in wait and Bundesliga aces Frankfurt are not the only one.

Aberdeen will also have to take on PAOK Salonika, who beat Hearts home and away in qualifying, and HJK, the Finns having started the summer in the Champions League before making their way into the Conference League courtesy of a noteworthy success over decent Romanians Farul Constanta.

There may well be Aberdeen supporters who fancy them at 100/1 with LiveScore Bet to go on and win the tournament.

In all honesty, they will do well to make the top two in the group with certainly Frankfurt, at 8/1, and even PAOK, at 40/1, better options to lift the trophy next spring.

Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie will lead his side in what looks a tough Europa Conference League group

Prediction

Fiorentina, 7/1 with LiveScore Bet for outright glory, have been handed a seemingly tougher challenge against Genk and Ferencvaros, with the free-scoring Hungarians, recovered from their Champions League humiliation by KI, a fair bet to accompany the Italians into the knockout rounds.

If there is a group surprise to consider then how about Czechs Viktoria Plzen, with ex-Watford and Burnley striker Matej Vydra in their ranks, to pip Dinamo Zagreb for top spot in a genuinely competitive Group C alongside Astana and Ballkani.

Overall, Aston Villa are not the only side with a rich European history who can safely put their reputation on the line and freewheel their way into the latter stages of the tournament.

Lille, 12/1 to win the Conference League with LiveScore Bet, have been pitched in with Olimpija Ljubljana, Slovan Bratislava and KI, none of whom should trouble Paulo Fonseca's side.