Aston Villa vs Red Bull Salzburg Prediction: Will second-string Villa drop points?

Aston Villa have already booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League, as the side currently ranked second in the table are guaranteed a top-eight finish. That means they can take it easy here, although Red Bull Salzburg need to win to stand a chance of making the knockout round. 

Below you can find my Aston Villa vs Red Bull Salzburg predictions featuring team news and more, ahead of Thursday's 20:00 kick-off at Villa Park (TNT Sports 1).

Team News

Villa boss Unai Emery is unlikely to take this one that seriously, so expect serious rotation. Youri Tielemans picked up an ankle injury in the win over Newcastle, while Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn are out with knee injuries. 

Ross Barkley faces a late test to assess his own knee issue, but expect the likes of Marco Bizot, Tyrone Mings and Victor Lindelof to all be handed starts. Lamare Bogarde could play with teenager George Hemmings in midfield, while Jadon Sancho is also in line for some more gametime.

Kerim Alajbegovic scored twice in Salzburg’s win over Basel and the teenager is set to start again for Red Bull Salzburg at Villa park. Edmund Baidoo and Petar Ratkov should start in the front three with him, while former Brentford man Mads Bidstrup should feature in midfield. 

Football Odds

Today's Football Fixtures

Aston Villa vs Red Bull Salzburg Odds

Aston Villa are the obvious favourites to win this tie, priced at just 2/5 to do so. That gives them an implied win probability of 71%. A draw is 4/1 and an away win is 6/1, while over 2.5 goals is 8/15.

BTTS is 8/11 and Ollie Watkins is the favourite to score first at 3/1.

Double Chance - Red Bull Salzburg or Draw @ 9/5

Red Bull Salzburg have to win to stand a chance at qualifying and given Aston Villa are going to heavily rotate - I think the right play here is to back against the hosts. Villa will want to end on a high here but looking at the team they could put out - and the fact they are now in the Premier League title race, I don’t think Emery can take any risks.

Salzburg beat Basel in their last Europa League outing and they should be fresh given that the Austrian league is still in the middle of their winter break. With no other competitive games to focus on, I think they can secure a result against a second-string Aston Villa outfit. 

Kerim Alajbegovic to score anytime @ 18/5

Just 18 years old, Alajbegovic looks to be the next big thing to come through at RB Salzburg. He has broken into the first team this term, having joined from Bayer Leverkusen, and he’s been a phenomenon, scoring 10 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions. 

He scored twice against Basel in their last Europa League game and looks so dangerous from the left wing. He’s the biggest threat Salzburg have in my opinion, and against a changed Villa back line, could strike again. 

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