THE ULTRA THURSDAY: The Ultra previews ASTON VILLA v BOLOGNA including a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ASTON VILLA V BOLOGNA
8pm The Europa League continues on Thursday and we have a cracker on Betdaq Betting Exchange, as Aston Villa host Bologna. Aston Villa have had a very lacklustre start to the Premier League season – three points from five games puts them in the relegation zone. Remarkably, they went the opening four games of the season without scoring before finally finding the net in a 1-1 draw against Sunderland at the weekend. They haven’t had a difficult fixture list so the alarm bells must be ringing – remarkably Unai Emery hasn’t faced any pressure from the UK media. Compare that situation with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United!
The under-lining numbers aren’t too kind to Villa either. An average xG created of 1.24 isn’t impressive – especially when your fixture list has been Newcastle, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton and Sunderland. They are conceding more chances than they creating, and it will be fascinating to see how they get on here. Bologna really focus on being solid at the back, and the big question is can Aston Villa break them down? Last season Bologna finished with an average xG conceded of just 0.86 in Serie A which is a very impressive figure – that was the best defensive figure in Italy.
Where Bologna fall down is they struggle to create good quality chances, but it’s hard to fault them at the back. Their average xG conceded in 2023/24 was only 1.06 too, which was the fourth best defensive figure. I have to say I was a little surprised to see the odds here when I clicked into the market. I know Bologna were blown away in the Champions League last season, but they do face a lacklustre Villa side here. Aston Villa come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.89 with Bologna 4.8 and the draw is 3.65 at the time of writing.
Bologna have had two wins and two losses from their opening four Serie A games, but their two losses came away to Roma and AC Milan. Bologna are a very solid side, but they are short of top class compared to the bigger clubs in Italy. Effectively the same level as Villa in the Premier League. I can’t get away from the Villa lay here at odds on – they’ve struggled so much to score goals and they face an excellent side at the back here. From a value point of view, I’m very happy with the Villa lay!
The Ultra Says:
Three points lay (liability) Aston Villa to beat Bologna at 1.89 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ELAsBo
