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After winning the first leg 2-1 at Villa Park, Aston Villa will travel to take on Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final tie.
Both Aston Villa and Lille enjoyed dominant phases in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final tie last Thursday. The tightly contested affair eventually ended 2-1 in Villa's favour.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring for Unai Emery's men as early as the 13th minute before John McGinn extended their advantage 11 minutes into the second half.
Things could have ended more positively for Villa but Lille managed to drag themselves back into the tie thanks to a Bafode Diakite strike in the 84th minute. The result marked the first time the French side tasted defeat in the Conference League this season.
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Paulo Fonseca's men have fared well in the league of late, with their last defeat in the French top flight dating back to February 25, when Toulouse beat them 3-0. They also have a very healthy home record and are currently unbeaten in 15 games on home turf.
Aston Villa will be wary of Lille's formidability at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. They picked up a surprise 2-0 win over Premier League title aspirants Arsenal at Emirates this past Sunday.
The Gunners were sitting at the top of the Premier League table heading into the game and there wasn't much in the build-up to the match which suggested an upset that could potentially derail their title hopes.
Not only did Villa shut out the Gunners but they also scored two quick goals in the last six minutes of normal time to leave Mikel Arteta and his men crestfallen in front of their home support.
As a result, Villa will show up against Lille with a spring in their steps and despite the latter's toughness at home, the Premier League side will fancy their chances of booking a berth in the semi-finals.
Lille vs Aston Villa Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Lille and Aston Villa have met thrice in the past. Both teams have won a game each while one match has ended in a draw.
- Lille have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches across all competitions.
- Aston Villa have failed to score in just one match in the Europa Conference League so far this season, a 0-0 draw against Ajax in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
- Lille have won four of their five home fixtures in the Conference League this term.
- If they avoid defeat on Thursday, Aston Villa will equal their longest unbeaten streak in Europe.
Lille vs Aston Villa Prediction
As was evident from the first leg, there's not much to separate the two sides. It'll once again come down to which side is more clinical in front of goal. Lille have a solid record at home but Villa will be buoyant after their victory over Arsenal at the weekend.
Unai Emery's men can match Lille's intensity and will most likely make their one-goal advantage from the first leg count on Thursday and progress to the semi-finals.
Prediction: Lille 2-2 Aston Villa (Aston Villa to win 4-3 on aggregate)
Lille vs Aston Villa Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
