Fenerbahce vs Aston Villa Prediction: Duran the Villan of the piece again

Fenerbahce (12th) and Aston Villa (third), separated by four points after six rounds of fixtures in the league phase of the Uefa Europa League, face off at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Thursday (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 1), with both teams looking to strengthen their top-eight ambitions, which would see them avoid a play-off tie.

Below are my Fenerbahce vs Aston Villa predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this midweek encounter from Istanbul, Turkey.

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Team News

Former Aston Villa pair Marco Asensio and Jhon Duran are set for a reunion with their former side on Thursday, while there is likely to be further ex-Premier League representation in Domenico Tedesco's starting XI, with Ederson (Manchester City), Nelson Semedo (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and Fred (Manchester United) all likely to line up from the beginning of Thursday's match.

However, English defender Archie Brown (toe), as well as Sebastian Szymanski (groin) and Levent Mercan (muscle), are sidelined due to injury, while January signings Matteo Guendouzi, Anthony Musaba and Mert Gunok are all ineligible for the Europa League until the knockout rounds.

Football Odds

Aston Villa were dealt a huge injury blow earlier this week with the news that influential midfielder Boubacar Kamar is likely to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Skipper John McGinn also went off with a knee issue in the 18th minute of Sunday's 1-0 loss to Everton, making the Scot a major doubt for Thursday's trip to Turkey.

Ross Barkley (knee), Amadou Onana (thigh) and Jadon Sancho (illness) could all miss out, too, while January signing Alysson is ineligible.

Villans head coach Unai Emery could start back-up goalkeeper Marco Bizot ahead of Emiliano Martinez, with the two shot-stoppers sharing Europa League duties between them so far this season.

Fenerbahce vs Aston Villa Odds

Betfred are offering several Price Boosts for this game, including Duran 2+ Shots on Target & Ollie Watkins 2+ Shots on Target at 6/1 (was 9/2).

In terms of the Match Result market, Fenerbahce are 6/4, or a 40% chance, to claim all three points, with Villa the same price, and the draw available at 12/5.

Player to Receive a Card - Jhon Duran (FEN) @ 2/1

Not a big price here, but once again, I'm playing into the narrative, and it makes even more sense when you consider the craziness of Duran.

The Colombian striker has been a serial card collector during his fledgling career, picking up nine yellows across 26 European appearances (Champions League/Europa League/Conference League) for Aston Villa and Fenerbahce, despite many of those outings coming from the bench.

This season, the 22-year-old has received six yellows and one red in 19 matches for Fenerbahce, including two cautions and one dismissal in three UEL league-phase games, despite not starting any of those.

Today's Football Fixtures

I'm not 100% sure that Duran will start on Thursday, but five of his cards (four yellows, one red) this season have come as a substitute, so even if he doesn't begin the game, there's still a good chance he goes into the book late on against his former club, where he probably made as many enemies as friends with some of his reported antics.

Match Result - Fenerbahce @ 6/4

Fenerbahce have only lost one of their last 21 games, winning 15 and drawing five of the other 20, and they head into Thursday's fixture on the back of four consecutive victories, keeping a clean sheet in the first three of those.

Of course, Villa are likely to provide stiffer opposition than the likes of Samsunpor (2-0), Alanyaspor (2-3) and, certainly, Beyoglu Yeni Carsi (0-1), but they've also beaten Galatasaray 2-0 in that run.

After a sticky start to the season, Villa have been sensational in the winter months, but in recent weeks, they've started to falter again, picking up just four points from the last 12 on offer in the Premier League.

The Villans have failed to score in their last two league games, following up a goalless draw at Crystal Palace with a 1-0 home defeat to Everton last Sunday, and recent injuries to McGinn and Kamara have robbed them of two of their most influential players.

Emery's side have won two of their three league-phase matches away from home, beating Feyenoord 2-0 and Basel 2-1, but between those games, they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Go Ahead Eagles.

Fenerbahce, meanwhile, are unbeaten on home soil in Europe this term, edging past OGC Nice (2-1) and VfB Stuttgart (1-0) before being held 1-1 by Ferencvaros.

Given the home side's desperation for all three points and the visitors' injury woes, I'm backing Fenerbahce to win on Thursday at solid odds of 6/4.

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