Aston Villa v Juventus: Back the low-scoring stalemate at bigger than 3/1 | OneFootball

UEFA Champions League

Aston Villa are without a win in six

Aston Villa aim to snap a six-game winless streak when hosting Juventus in the Champions League this midweek. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing a tight encounter at Villa Park.

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Aston Villa v Juventus Wednesday November 27, 20:00

Emery admits Villa concerns

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery admitted he was concerned by his side's vulnerability on transitions and said it was an area he and his players were working to fix. The Spaniard was speaking after overseeing his team twice come from behind to pick a 2-2 home draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday, a result that halted the Villans five-game losing streak.

He said, "We deserved more but we made some mistakes that we need to correct. We had chances to score, we came back. In the second half we pushed and felt close to scoring, but we have to accept one point. A point is not bad, but the issue is we are trying to be in the top seven positions, and we need to improve to be there."

Emery is hoping to have Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana available again after the pair just missed out at the weekend, but Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey remain on the treatment table. Lucas Digne and Matty Cash are expected to be recalled after starting Saturday on the bench with Jhon Duran again utilised as an impact substitute.

Juventus hit hard by injuries

Juventus chief Thiago Motta accepted his side were not at their best in Sunday's goalless draw at Milan but appreciated a 'valuable point' and performance. The Bianconeri were forced to completely revamp their side at San Siro amid an injury crisis, including Dusan Vlahovic, Arkadiusz Milik and Nico Gonzalez, leaving the Old Lady with no available strikers.

Juve used Teun Koopmeiners as an unorthodox nine, supported by Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah and were able to extend their unbeaten start to the Serie A season to 13 games, picking up a 10th clean sheet, in a dreadfully dull encounter. McKennie is now rated doubtful, whilst Bremer, Juan Cabal and Douglas Luiz are also sidelined through injury.

Speaking post-Milan, Motta said, "I am satisfied with the work we did defensively against a team that was allowed very little, practically nothing. Clearly, we created relatively little in attack, but did get into situations that could've gone better. I think overall a point is valuable. I am proud of my players after a good performance in our circumstances."

Old Lady difficult to oust

This match-up is a repeat of the 1982/83 European Cup quarter-final, in which Juventus defeated reigning champions Aston Villa 5-2 on aggregate en-route to the final. That tie was Villa's last appearance in Europe's elite club competition up until this season, where the Premier League side have enjoyed memorable home victories against Bayern and Bologna.

Aston Villa 2.44 have won their last three UEFA competition matches at home against Italian opposition without conceding a goal but come into this clash winless in their last six across all competitions (W0-D2-L4), equalling their longest run without a victory under Unai Emery. They've scored just five goals in those six games, whilst leaking 12 times.

Juventus's 3.30 last-gasp loss to Stuttgart on MD3 is the Bianconeri's only defeat this season across all competitions (W8-D8-L1) with the Old Lady picking up at least a point from trips to Milan, Inter, Lille and Leipzig. Thiago Motta's team might again be missing key components in attacking positions here and lack the required tools to hurt Villa in transition.

Stalemate stands-out

Under 2.5 Goals is trading at 1.79 here having won in each of Aston Villa's last three Champions League matches, as well as six of their previous 10 across all competitions. Juventus' propensity for clean sheets has also led to a series of Unders winners with 10 of their 17 fixtures under Thiago Motta's charge featuring a maximum of two strikes.

Both sides are in relatively strong positions in the 36-team Champions League ladder at the midway stage; Villa are enduring a lean streak, whilst Juventus head to Birmingham without a collection of key components in forward areas and so the Draw 3.35 looks a reasonable runner having paid-out in eight of Juve's 17 overall and four of Villa's previous 11.

We can bolster the odds on offer by combining the Draw and Under 2.5 Goals at a much more enticing 4.20 via the Exchange, with the 0-0 and 1-1 potentially providing profit on Wednesday night.

Recommended bets

Back the Draw and Under 2.5 Goals @ 4.20