Aston Villa vs Viking Prediction & Betting Tips

Villa's up-and-down run against Viking's domestic dominance

Aston Villa's last 20 matches across competitions read 9 wins, 2 draws and 9 losses, with 40 scored and 32 conceded. That's a side capable of good and bad in equal measure. There's a 4-0 win over Brighton in there, but also a 2-3 League Cup exit at Coventry and a narrow 0-1 home loss to Arsenal. In Europe specifically, they lost 2-3 away at Club Brugge.

Aston Villa: 20 completed matches; Viking: 20 completed matches.

Aston Villa

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

10% 2 / 20

Loss

45% 9 / 20

Scored

40

Conceded

32

Difference

+8

Viking

20 matches

Win

65% 13 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

15% 3 / 20

Scored

47

Conceded

22

Difference

+25

Viking's record is much stronger on the surface, 13 wins from 20 with only 3 defeats and 47 goals scored. At home in Eliteserien they've been ruthless, thumping Kristiansund 8-1 and beating Lillestrom 3-0. But their Champions League form tells a different story, a 3-1 defeat away at Stuttgart and a 2-2 draw at home to Dinamo Zagreb, though they did also beat Zagreb 3-1 along the way.

Viking's domestic numbers look great, but their form against higher-level opposition in Europe has been far less convincing.

Comparative Team Statistics: Aston Villa vs Viking

Contrasting starts in the league phase

The early league phase table shows Aston Villa sitting 9th with three points from their opening game, a win. Viking are down in 29th after losing theirs. It's only one match each so far, so these positions could easily move about, but it's a clear early split between a side that's started well and one that hasn't.

Key men to watch

Viking's Z. Tripić has three goals in his last three appearances, clearly their main attacking threat right now, with T. Moi chipping in two assists over the same run. J. Bell has picked up three yellow cards in three games too, worth keeping an eye on given how quickly that can add up. For Villa, Pau Torres has provided two assists in the one match we have data for, suggesting he's been getting forward and creating chances from the back.

Aston Villa:

Best assist providers:

Pau Torres - 2

Viking:

Best scorers:

Z. Tripić - 3

Best assist providers:

T. Moi - 2

Penalty cards:

J. Bell x 3

How this one could play out

Villa have shown they can score goals at home, that 4-0 over Brighton being the clearest example, but they've also been open at the back in some matches, including in Europe. Viking's issue has been more about the step up in quality, comfortable domestically but stretched against a side like Stuttgart. That points to a game where Villa should have the better of things at home, though Viking's attacking record means they're unlikely to sit back and absorb pressure without threatening themselves.