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Aston Villa will host Lille at Villa Park on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League campaign.
The home side have hit a rough patch in their domestic assignments of late and will hope they can find better luck elsewhere this week. They locked horns with an out-of-form Ajax outfit in the previous round of the competition, playing out a goalless draw in the first-leg clash in the Netherlands before carrying out a 4-0 demolition of the Eredivisie side in the second leg.
Aston Villa are set to make their first appearance in the knockout stages of a European showpiece since the 2008-09 campaign and will be looking to mark their return with a win.
Lille, meanwhile, are playing well at the moment and will be looking to carry that momentum onto the continental stage on Thursday. Les Dogues faced Austrian outfit Sturm Graz in the last-16 of the tournament, winning 3-0 on the road in the first leg before playing out a 1-1 draw in the return leg a week later.
Aston Villa vs Lille Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday's game will mark the third meeting between Villa and Lille. The visitors are undefeated in their previous two games in this fixture picking up a win and a draw.
- The two sides last faced off in the semifinals of the now-defunct UEFA Intertoto Cup back in the 2002-03 campaign, with the French side picking up a 3-1 aggregate victory.
- Lille are without a clean sheet in their last five games across all competitions.
- Only three of Villa's eight league defeats this season have come on home turf.
Aston Villa vs Lille Prediction
Villa are on a run of back-to-back winless outings and have won just two of their last 11 games across all competitions. They have, however, picked up two wins and a draw from their last three home games and will be looking forward to the midweek clash.
Lille are on a seven-game unbeaten streak, picking up four wins and three draws in that period. They are undefeated in their last three away games but could see defeat against stronger opponents this Thursday.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Lille
Aston Villa vs Lille Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Aston Villa to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Four of the visitors' last six matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in each of the hosts' last five matchups)
