Will Salzburg seize the opportunity?
The hosts have only been embarrassed in this competition by their surprise defeat to Dutch cup winners GA Eagles.
The Villans have won all six of their other games and have already secured their ticket to the round of 16. The timing of the match is therefore favorable for the Austrian runners-up, as the hosts are likely to field a weakened side.
On the other hand, even if Salzburg wins, they could still miss out on the intermediate round because the table situation no longer allows for it. Nevertheless, the Austrians will of course try to take advantage of their slim chance, which is why we expect the visitors to be much more motivated than the hosts.
In addition, RB recently impressed with a home win against Basel. We therefore predict that the visitors will lose by a maximum of one goal in the match between Aston Villa and RB Salzburg. Furthermore, bets on the hosts scoring more than one goal after the break could be worthwhile.
Coach Thomas Letsch’s visiting team tends to fall apart defensively after the break. With ten goals conceded in the second halves, they have the second-worst record in this regard, along with Ludogorez and bottom-placed Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Kerim Alajbegovic is also in good form for the visitors. The Bosnian arrived last summer from Leverkusen for a bargain price of €2 million and has immediately proved to be the reinforcement Salzburg’s attack had been hoping for. In his first professional season, the 18-year-old has scored six goals in 14 Bundesliga appearances and two goals in three ÖFB Cup games. Recently, he has stepped up a gear.
In the last two games at national and international level, the youngster scored twice! Given this efficiency, the odds for his next personal goal celebration in the match between Aston Villa and Red Bull Salzburg also look promising.
Aston Villa – Red Bull Salzburg Head-to-head record
The Birmingham club and the 17-time champions of the Alpine republic are facing each other for the first time. The Villans’ only games against an Austrian team were in the Europa League qualifiers in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons against Rapid Vienna, where they were eliminated both times.
RB Salzburg, for its part, has failed to win any of its eight European encounters with English teams (0-2-6) and lost both previous Europa League games against Manchester City in the 2010/11 season (0-2 at home, 0-3 away).
For the premiere of Aston Villa against Red Bull Salzburg, the betting odds unsurprisingly place the home side very clearly in the role of favorites.
Another fun fact about the match: all five of Aston Villa’s goals in the Europa League at Villa Park this season have been scored by players whose surnames begin with “M” (1 x McGinn, 1 x Maatsen, 3 x Malen), although at least Donyell Malen has since left the club on loan to AS Roma. Players whose surnames do not begin with “M” have had a whopping 29 shots on goal, but have not scored!
Aston Villa – Red Bull Salzburg Tip
Including qualifying matches, Aston Villa has won 14 of its last 16 home games in European competitions (14-1-1) and has won its last six games in a row. Normally, there wouldn’t be much for the Austrian winter champions to gain in Birmingham.
Especially considering that Salzburg has lost its last five away games on the international stage. But now the timing of the match plays into the visitors’ hands: Coach Unai Emery’s home team has already qualified for the round of 16, which means that motivation will be limited for last season’s sixth-place Premier League team.
In addition, Villa will probably give some of its regular players a break. The visiting “Bulls,” on the other hand, still have a small chance of reaching the intermediate round, which is why they should not lack commitment. Given this situation, the betting odds for the match between Aston Villa and Red Bull Salzburg are worth considering, with the team from Mozart’s city not losing by more than one goal.
