Young Boys vs Aston Villa Prediction: Watkins looking for further joy

Aston Villa kick off their 2024/25 Champions League campaign on Tuesday night (17:45, live on TNT Sports 1), as they travel to Bern to take on Young Boys.

Villa, who famously won the European Cup in 1982, will be rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite this season for the first time in more than four decades. Read on for my Young Boys vs Aston Villa prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

For the hosts, first-choice goalkeeper David von Ballmoos recently returned from injury, and could play on Tuesday night after featuring at the weekend.

Silvere Ganvoula will compete with Cedric Itten, Darian Males and Meschak Elia for a place in the final third, while Alan Virginius was the match-winner for Patrick Rahmen's side in the previous round against Galatasaray, so he'll be eager to start here.

As for Villa, Unai Emery should have most of his key players available on Tuesday, however, he will be without the services of Leon Bailey and Matty Cash.

Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are back in training, though neither are ready for first-team action yet.

Young Boys vs Aston Villa Odds

Villa are favourites for the game at 4/6, giving them a 60% chance of claiming all three points, while the draw is 3/1 and the hosts can be backed at 4/1.

Both teams to score, a bet that landed in both sides' respective matches at the weekend, is currently priced up at 8/15.

Aston Villa to win and over 2.5 goals @ 23/20

Villa should make a winning start in the Champions League this week. Young Boys have certain factors in their favour but Emery's visitors should be ultimately too strong for their opponents.

Emery's men made hard work of their match against Everton at the weekend, coming from two goals down to beat the Toffees 3-2 in a Premier League thriller and the goals should continue to flow when they take on Rahmen's side.

The Swiss champions beat Galatasaray 4-2 on aggregate in the play-off round and have also conceded 14 goals in six league games this term.

Villa's outings so far this season have also been full of goalmouth action - both teams have scored in three of their opening four Premier League games, with three of those four matches also featuring three or more goals.

Ollie Watkins to score anytime @ 6/5

Ollie Watkins ended his eight-game Premier League scoring drought on Saturday with a brace against Everton.

The England international also netted five times in the 2023/24 Conference League campaign, showing he's become accustomed to life on the European stage.

The 28-year-old scored 27 goals across all competitions last term, as well as scoring a late winner against the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final, and now he's ended his domestic drought, I'm expecting the former Brentford man to kick on.

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