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Aston Villa will look to preserve their place in the top two of Group E as they take on AZ Alkmaar at Villa Park on Thursday.
Aston Villa thumped AZ Alkmaar 4-1 when the two sides met on October 26 in the reverse fixture. Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn got on the scoresheet for Unai Emery's side as Ibrahim Sadiq's 65th-minute strike proved to be nothing but a consolation for the Dutch side
With a slew of impressive wins under their belt in the early stages of the new campaign, Aston Villa were flying until they were brought down to the ground by Nottingham Forest this Sunday.
Villa arrived at the City Ground this past Sunday with a spring in their step, riding on the back of three successive wins over West Ham, AZ Alkmaar and Luton Town with a combined scoreline of 11-3. However, Forest fired a warning shot quite early in the game as Ola Aina put Forest ahead in the fifth minute.
Orel Mangala doubled their advantage just two minutes into the second half to help Steve Cooper's side pick up three very valuable points.
Villa are currently second in Group E and will remain on course to progress to the knockout stages if they can complete the double over AZ on Thursday.
Meanwhile, AZ Alkmaar will be ruing how they squandered a three-goal advantage in their Group E opener against Zrinjski. They lost the game 4-3 in a swashbuckling encounter. However, AZ got back to winning ways against Legia Warsaw in their subsequent Conference League outing.
But a 4-1 loss to Aston Villa followed and they currently sit three points short of the second place in Group E. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Excelsior this past Saturday. AZ looked set to seal all three points as they headed into stoppage time on the strength of Mayckel Lahdo's 72nd-minute strike.
However, Cisse Sandra equalized for Excelsior in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to spoil AZ's party.
Aston Villa vs AZ Alkmaar Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Aston Villa are set to play hosts to AZ Alkmaar for the first time in the history of the club.
- Villa have managed to score 19 goals in their last seven matches across all competitions.
- Aston Villa are on a 12-game winning run at home in the Premier League.
- AZ have won eight of their 10 Eredivisie matches so far this season.
- AZ have averaged over 2.5 goals domestically this term.
Aston Villa vs AZ Alkmaar Prediction
Aston Villa might have received a chin check from Nottingham Forest this weekend but they are still a very difficult side to beat on their day. They also have a home advantage here and should be able to get all three points against their Dutch opponents.
Prediction: Aston Villa 3-1 AZ Alkmaar
Aston Villa vs AZ Alkmaar Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Aston Villa to win
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
