Ajax vs Aston Villa Prediction & Match Preview

• Aston Villa travel to Amsterdam on the back of three straight Premier League wins.
• Ajax have won just one of the previous seven outings across competitions.
• Ollie Watkins notched five goals in the last three Premier League appearances.

Aston Villa survived a late Luton push to grab super-important three points from Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon. Substitute Lucas Digne bagged the last-gasp winner to help Villa keep the five-point advantage on Spurs in the battle for the top-four finish in the Premier League.

The Villains will now carry a three-win streak to Amsterdam. They take on Ajax in the famous first leg of the UEFA Conference League R16 tie on Thursday evening at Johan Cruijff Arena. Villa are the favourites both on the night and over two legs. Can they justify it on the pitch, though?

Ajax bounced back from the 0-2 defeat at AZ by beating Utrecht with the same scoreline on Sunday afternoon. The team led by Johaness van ‘t Schip are fifth in the Eredivisie table after 24 rounds of the competition. Ajax lack both quality and consistency to compete at the highest level.

Recent Meetings

• It’s been 16 years since these two outfits locked horns in their lone previous head-to-head encounter.
• Back then, Aston Villa celebrated a 2-1 home win in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.

Ajax vs Aston Villa Prediction

Aston Villa enter the tie in much higher spirits and deservedly carry a big favourites’ tag into it. The Villains have won three on the spin in the Premier League, scoring nine goals in the process. Their in-form forward will have a lot of room to deliver in the final third past the leaky Ajax defence.

The team from Amsterdam have won only one of the last seven outings across competitions. The run includes two draws against Bodo/Glimt in the knockout-stage playoffs. Ajax advanced with an extra-time goal on Norwegian soil two weeks ago. Anyways, the away win is the only logical betting option and you can back it at the odds of 1.66.

Ollie Watkins has been one of the best players in English Premier League this season. The English forward is only two goals shy to Erling Haaland at the top of the division’s goal-scoring charts at the moment. He has been on a particularly hot run of form in the last several weeks, netting five goals in the previous three Premier League appearances. Ajax kept only one clean sheet in the last 17 outings across competitions. Ollie Watkins is 2.10 o score anytime on Thursday.

Steffen Schmidt- March 5, 2024

Ajax vs Aston Villa Betting Tips

Aston Villa to win

OK

4.42 Odds

Ollie Watkins to score anytime

OK

2.10 Odds

Correct Score: Aston Villa 2-1

OK

13.00 Odds