Aston Villa vs AZ Alkmaar tips and predictions: Villa Park domination to continue in Europe
- Robbie Savage
- 8 November 2023
Planet Sport Bet ambassador Robbie Savage is backing Aston Villa to return to winning ways when AZ Alkmaar come to visit in the Europa Conference League.
This was a game I covered last time and I thought Aston Villa on the night were absolutely fantastic, sharing the goals out across the team.
Unai Emery didn’t play his strongest team, but it was still a strong team. The strength and depth Villa have now is very, very good. It was a great performance.
AZ are second in their league, but I think at Villa Park, Aston Villa will win and it will be another dominant performance. I'm going 2-0 Villa.
Robbie’s Tip: Aston Villa 2-0 AZ Alkmaar
Team news
Aston Villa will be without Emiliano Buendia, Kortney Hause, Tyrone Mings and Jacob Ramsey for Thursday’s match.
There are also doubts over Jhon Duran who sustained a toe injury.
AZ Alkmaar also have a couple of injury question marks to contend with concerning Lewis Schouten and Mees de Wit.
Key stats
- Villa unbeaten in four at home
- Villa no clean sheet in five
- Villa have scored over 2.5 goals in three of last fur home matches
- AZ Alkmaar have only lost once in last eight matches - to Aston Villa
Planet Sport’s other bets to consider
Nowadays, Aston Villa defeats are considered as rare as warm UK days in November. Nevertheless, Unai Emery’s men did endure a slight slip-up as they were beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest in the Premier League over the weekend.
The result ended Villa’s six-match unbeaten run – five of those being victories. It was also their fourth loss in 16 competitive outings.
AZ, who are currently second in the Eredivisie, have also experienced a slight slip up following a strong start to the campaign.
The Dutch outfit saw their four-match winning run snapped at the hands of Aston Villa who picked up an emphatic 4-1 win.
Since then, Alkmaar have followed up with a 1-1 draw against an out-of-form Excelsior side.
The gap in quality between Villa and AZ was evident in their first match over in the Netherlands. That gap is unlikely to close at Villa Park – a ground at which Unai Emery’s men have won seven of eight matches this season.
With that in mind, we’re backing the hosts to return to winning ways, and do so in style. Villa to win in the handicap market is the way to go in this one.
