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Feyenoord vs Aston Villa prediction, best bets & predicted line-ups: Watkins can stay on a roll
Follow our football betting tips as Aston Villa travel to Feyenoord in the Europa League
Feyenoord vs Aston Villa Best Bets
Aston Villa will be hoping to make it three wins in a row when they travel to Holland to take on Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday (8pm, TNT Sports 3 & Discovery+).
After drawing four and losing two of their opening six games, in all competitions, Villa finally got their first win of the season in this competition last time out, when they beat Bologna 1-0 at Villa Park.
They followed it up with three points on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 and secure their first league win of the campaign.
Unai Emery’s side are favourites to win the Europa League this season with most betting sites, off the back of a good Champions League run last term.
Thursday’s opponents are looking for their first points in this competition after losing their opening game 1-0 away at Sporting Braga.
That, along with a 5-2 loss to Fenerbahce in the Champions League qualifying rounds, are Feyenoord’s only defeats so far this season.
They have won seven and drawn one of their other matches in all competitions, and sit top of the Eredivisie table, three points clear of second-placed PSV Eindhoven.
Feyenoord vs Aston Villa betting preview: Villa to keep their run going
This will be the first-ever meeting between these two sides, but after Villa won eight games in last season’s Champions League, including against Bayern Munich and the eventual winners Paris St-Germain, it’s tough to argue with the visitors being favourites for this game in the Europa League odds.
The Dutch side, despite playing 312 games in all European competitions, doesn’t have the best of records against English opposition.
They have won only eight of their 29 meetings with English sides and have lost three of the last five against Premier League opponents.
Their manager, though, does have plenty of experience of winning against English teams and Aston Villa in particular.
Robin van Persie spent eight years at Arsenal and three years at Manchester United and faced Villa 12 times, winning seven and drawing just one. He also scored eight goals and assisted in a further two.
Football betting sites have Villa as the favourites for the win, and Sunday’s win over Fulham will hugely buoy them.
Feyenoord vs Aston Villa prediction 1: Villa to win - 6/4 Betfred
Watkins to find his form
Ollie Watkins has received a lot of criticism in recent weeks after failing to score in the opening seven games of the season.
He finally opened his account last Sunday when he cancelled out Raul Jimenez’s early opener, and now that he’s up and running, we are expecting him to deliver again.
The England striker scored 18 goals last season but just one in the Champions League when Villa beat Celtic 4-2 at Villa Park.
Feyenoord vs Aston Villa prediction 2: Watkins to score at any time - 15/8 Betway
Feyenoord vs Aston Villa team news
Feyenoord: Attacking midfielder Sem Steijn could return from injury, but they will be without Malcolm Jeng after he was withdrawn at halftime in their 1-0 win over FC Groningen and has since undergone surgery.
Aston Villa: John McGinn is a doubt for Villa after picking up a knock at the weekend, while Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana are both managing injuries, so they could be left at home for this one.
Feyenoord vs Aston Villa predicted line-ups
Feyenoord: Wellenreuther; Read, Ahmedhodzic, Watanabe, Smal; Timber, Steijn, Valente; Hadj Moussa, Ueda, Sauer
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, McGinn, Guessand, Buendia, Rogers, Watkins
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