Aston Villa v RB Salzburg

Two teams at either end of the Europa League clash in Birmingham under the lights. Salzburg can only qualify with a win and could do it against Villa’s back up side.

UEFA Europa League – Villa Park 21:00 CET

Team News:

Aston Villa miss key central midfielders John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemens here (although none of them have featured more than three times in Europa League this season. Expect massive rotation here as Villa have already qualified top eight.

RB Salzburg have no new injury worries going into this one.

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Formations:

Aston Villa stick with the 4-2-3-1 that has served them well in domestic and European competition. They like width in their attacks and play out from the back to create space in midfield and forward positions.

RB Salzburg have mixed it up in Europa League with 4-3-3 being their most used.

Statistics:

Referee: Rohit Saggi (Average cards 3.78 Yellow 0.07 Red per game)

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Match Preview:

A game with very little on the line for Aston Villa.  The home side are guaranteed top 8 and with them challenging for the England Premier League title don’t expect many 1^st team regulars. RB Salzburg require a win and several other teams to lose for them to sneak into the last remaining qualification place. Salzburg also will be off the pace having had only one competitive game since the last Austrian Bundesliga match in mid-December due to Winter Break there.

Betting Preview:

In a normal game with both sides fit and firing it would be easier to break down. With Villa likely to have eyes on their weekend match with Brentford and Salzburg not really in the best shape it’s a tough one. Both teams to score is a viable option due to the rotation likely from the home side and the attacking intent of the visitors.