Aston Villa's first foray into the new Champions League format sees the Premier League club making the trip to Switzerland to face Young Boys.
Tuesday's hosts have made a terrible start to the new season, picking up three points from a possible 18, while Aston Villa have enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign with three wins from a possible four.
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Young Boys vs Aston Villa prediction: Goals at both ends of the pitch?
Key Stats
- Both teams have scored in three of Aston Villa's last five fixtures.
- At least three goals have been scored in three of Young Boys' last five matches.
- Three of Aston Villa's last five outings have produced over 2.5 goals.
Correct score prediction: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
We've only backed a narrow Aston Villa victory on Tuesday because Young Boys have performed well in the qualifying phase of the Champions League, knocking out Turkish side Galatasaray against the odds, but we still fancy the English guests to come away with a 2-1 victory in Switzerland.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Aston Villa the clear favourite
- HOME: 4/1 (5.00) – 20%
- DRAW: 57/17 (4.35) – 23%
- AWAY: 7/10 (1.70) – 58.8%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
Aston Villa are the expected winner of this game with a probability of 58.8% and we can't argue with the bookmakers on this prediction.
You can find all our predictions for today's games on our football betting tips page.
Most recent H2Hs: Never met before
Young Boys and Aston Villa will lock horns for the very first time this week but this isn't the first occasion in which the English side have faced Swiss opposition. Villa have played four games against sides from Switzerland over the year, winning two, drawing one and losing one.
Young Boys preview: Mixed start to the season
Young Boys might still be searching for their first league win of the season but the Swiss giants have performed well in the cup competitions.
Tuesday's hosts are unbeaten in their last five competitive matches which includes two wins in the Schweizer Pokal, a draw in the league as well as knocking Galatasaray out of the Champions League qualifiers 4-2 on aggregate.
Lukasz Lakomy, Abdu Conte, Patric Pfeiffer, Facinet Conte, Saidy Janko and Loris Benito could all miss the Aston Villa game through injury.
Predicted lineup: Keller (GK), Blum, Hadjam, Zoukrou, Husic, Lauper, Ugrinic, Niasse, Itten, Colley & Monteiro
UEFA Champions League 01/10/24
L
Barcelona
5
Young Boys
0
Switzerland Super League 28/09/24
L
Grasshoppers
1
Young Boys
0
Switzerland Super League 22/09/24
W
Winterthur
1
Young Boys
4
UEFA Champions League 17/09/24
L
Aston Villa
3
Young Boys
0
Switzerland Cup 14/09/24
W
Vevey Sports 05
2
Young Boys
4
Aston Villa preview: Performing really well
Unai Emery's side will be full of confidence heading into their first European game of the season.
Aston Villa have picked up nine points from a possible 12 in the Premier League, coming from two goals down at the weekend to defeat Everton 3-2.
Leon Bailey, Matty Cash, Robin Olsen and Tyrone Mings won't make the trip to Switzerland this week due to injury.
Predicted lineup: Martínez (GK), Digne, Torres, Konsa, McGinn, Tielemans, Ramsey, Onana, Bogarde, Watkins & Rogers
UEFA Champions League 02/10/24
W
Bayern Munich
0
Aston Villa
1
England Premier League 29/09/24
D
Ipswich
2
Aston Villa
2
England EFL Cup 24/09/24
W
Wycombe
1
Aston Villa
2
England Premier League 21/09/24
W
Wolverhampton
1
Aston Villa
3
UEFA Champions League 17/09/24
W
Young Boys
0
Aston Villa
3
Player to watch: Lucas Digne
Lucas Digne was on the verge of leaving Aston Villa last season following the arrival of Alex Moreno but the Frenchman has fought hard to keep his place in the team and has now locked down the left-back spot once again.
Digne is also back in the French national team and has provided two assists in the Premier League this season, so you can see why he is our player to watch on Tuesday night should he start the game.
Digne has revived his club and international career
We're backing Digne to get up and down that left wing, providing crosses for the likes of Ollie Watkins to get on the end of just as he did against Everton on Saturday.
