Aston Villa vs Bologna Bet Builder Tips: Under 2.5 goals in 15/2 shot

Aston Villa welcome Bologna to Villa Park on Tuesday night (20:00, TNT Sports 1) for their third match in the Champions League. Unai Emery's side have picked up maximum points so far and will have been lifted by their win over Bayern Munich a few weeks ago.

Bologna will provide them with a different kind of challenge, and one that they should be able to overcome. Below I have outlined my Aston Villa vs Bologna bet builder tips, which combined, pays out at an enticing price of 15/2.

Aston Villa vs Bologna Odds

Aston Villa to win

With Emery's men at home again, it is hard to look past them winning this one. This is of course a match in which you have two sides who are not normally competing at this level on an annual basis, so the two sides are trying to make the most of the opportunity they have.

Villa have started well in both Europe and the Premier League, sitting fourth in the table of their domestic league. They picked up another win at the weekend against Fulham away from home, so they will be feeling good ahead of this latest European encounter.

The hosts are also unbeaten in their last nine matches in all competitions, so it is going to take something from the Italian visitors to end this streak. Bologna are also winless in their last four across all competitions, so momentum is certainly with Villa heading into this one.

Villa Park is going to be packed-out once again and the players will want to deliver in front of their fans again. Bologna can make life tough for the English side, but I'm confident Villa will come away with another three points.

Under 2.5 goals

With that in mind, I don't think we will be seeing a great deal of goals in this part of the West Midlands on Tuesday. Bologna will want to be practical with their approach, and that will be to try and limit Villa's attacking players in the final third.

That is why I think backing under 2.5 goals could be a smart play for this contest. It has been a winning selection in both of Bologna's Champions League fixtures so far this season, and they are still without a goal in the competition. They were able to limit Liverpool to just two goals in their last appearance, so I can see them being able to do so against Villa on this occasion.

Villa saw this market land against Bayern as Jhon Duran's second-half strike was the difference between the two sides last time out. In the Premier League, they have seen less than three goals scored in two of their four encounters at Villa Park, so we could see this trend continue when Bologna come to town.

Football Odds

Amadou Onana to commit 1+ fouls

Midfielder Amadou Onana has been an impressive addition to Emery's side since joining from Everton in the summer. The Belgian has already contributed a couple of goals, which has surprised a lot of people, but it is his traditional midfield play that has been catching the eye.

He has been incredibly useful to Villa both in and out of possession, but even though he can be very good defensively, he is no stranger to committing fouls. Onana has already been penalised four times in Europe this term, and fortunately for his team, he has escaped receiving a yellow card so far.

With him averaging two fouls per game in the Champions League so far, I think he is a sensible selection to commit a foul in Tuesday's clash. The midfield battle will be key in this contest, and although I am confident that he and compatriot Youri Tielemans will come out on top, I'm sure the likes of Remo Freuler and Nikola Moro can cause them a few problems.

Ollie Watkins anytime goalscorer

My bet builder is rounded off with a goalscorer, and who else am I going to back other than Villa's centre-forward Ollie Watkins? Maybe super sub Jhon Duran, but I have tipped him to score quite a few times already this season.

It's about time I moved on to someone else in this team to find the back of the net and Villa's main striker seems to be the right fit for this one. The England international has been on fire in the Premier League so far with five goals in eight appearances, but he is yet to open his account in Europe.

His teammate Duran should give him a few pointers after scoring two in two, although this feels like the perfect time for Watkins to get up and running. He was on the scoresheet at Fulham over the weekend, so he will be heading into this game full of confidence.

Then there is the fact that he's back playing at home in front of a sell-out crowd to spur him on. I think the stars are aligned for him to score his first Champions League goal.

Offers 

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Champions League game on Tuesday or Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Europa League/Europa Conference League games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement).

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

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