Aston Villa Europa League and Premier League betting odds: Emery to work his magic again?

Aston Villa’s start to the season has been sub-par to say the least. Unai Emery has overseen a five-game winless run to kick off the campaign, and has watched his side score just one league goal, that a Matty Cash effort in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Sunderland.

Three points from five matches, out of the EFL Cup already and with Monchi now expected to depart… Villa Park is more blue than claret after the opening weeks of the campaign. It’s a far cry from their showings earlier this year when Villa were flying high.

Missing out on a Champions League spot has hurt the club, and while they were able to retain the services of Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers despite PSR concerns, the mood is low in the Midlands.

So what next for Villa? They can ill-afford to dwell on Monchi’s exit as they gear up for their Europa League campaign, which gets underway on Thursday when they host Bologna.

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Aston Villa vs Bologna match odds

This week’s Europa League welcome of Bologna is the perfect chance to really get the season underway. A European night under the Villa Park lights… you can be sure the Italian side will walk out to a cauldron of noise in the first round of Europa League games.

That said, Bologna are not to be underestimated. Under the watchful eye of Vincenzo Italiano, I Rossoblu have had a taste of Champions League football and went the distance in the Coppa Italia last season, defeating the likes of Atalanta AC Milan on the way. Granted, they have lost both away games to kick off their Serie A campaign, yet have the personnel in Riccardo Orsolini, Ciro Immobile and Jonathan Rowe, to name three, to hurt Villa this week.

Even so, considering home advantage, Villa are at a best price of 16/19 with Unibet to get their Europa League campaign off to a winning start. A draw is at a best price of 13/5 with Ladbrokes, while Bologna to win can be found at 7/2 with Betfred.

Europa League outright odds

Having retained the services of Watkins, Rogers and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and added the likes of Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott to the ranks, it’s no wonder that Villa are the pre-tournament favourites to win the Europa League. It’s a bread-and-butter competition for Emery, who completed a threepeat with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, and won the tournament again with Villarreal in 2021.

After watching a Premier League side win the competition last season, Villa will hope to follow in Tottenham’s footsteps and claim a first piece of major European silverware since 1982. Ahead of the start of the league phase this week, the Villans are the 13/2 favourites to win the Europa League outright with Paddy Power.

It won’t be a walk in the park for Villa, however. A number of European heavyweights will fancy their chances of pipping Emery’s side to glory this time around, including FC Porto, Roma and Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest, now under the watchful eye of the man who masterminded Spurs’ triumph, Ange Postecoglou.

Aston Villa vs Fulham match odds

Following Thursday’s welcome of Bolgona, Aston Villa will quickly return to Premier League action in front of their fans when they take on Fulham. After opening the season with two draws and a defeat, the Whites have won their last two league outings, claiming all the spoils against Leeds and Brentford in front of their own fans.

That said, Fulham don’t have a great record at Villa Park. Indeed, Villa have won their last four home league meetings with the west London side, which has followed the same result pattern of 3-1, 1-0, 3-1, 1-0. Should that pattern continue this week, then Villa to win 3-1 is currently at a best price of 20/1 with bet365.

Surely, Villa’s poor start can’t also continue. The squad itself is too good not to turn their fortunes around, with a Villa win available at 27/20 with bet365. Backing Fulham to claim a result? Marco Silva’s side to seal a point is available at a best price of 23/10 with Coral, while Fulham to claim all the spoils is also at 23/10 with BetMGM.

Premier League relegation odds

That being said… what if… Villa can’t turn their fortunes around? They’ve made a relegation-esque start to the season and with the three promoted sides – Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland – looking far better equipped to beat the drop than their predecessors, a number of top-flight regulars may be in trouble. Tottenham, for example, were fortunate that those that finished in the bottom three were so utterly hopeless that they weren’t dragged into a dogfight last season.

At the time of writing, Burnley are the 5/12 favourites with Unibet to be relegated this season, while Villa can be found at 16/1 with William Hill to drop into the Championship. Emery rescued them in the past, but with the magic looking to be running out… might Villa be in danger? Defeat against Fulham on Sunday could see doubts start to set in and those odds begin to shorten.

Aston Villa Premier League top six finish odds

Conversely, a win over Fulham on Sunday could prove to be the catalyst to kick Villa’s season into gear. So often a team has needed just one result, one change in fortunes, to completely 180 their campaign, and against a Fulham side that hasn’t won in four at Villa Park; they could prove the ideal opponents to get 2025/26 back on track.

Now, a top-four finish is likely beyond Villa’s grasp, even at this early stage of the season. They’re already seven points off fourth despite a navigable start to the campaign, meaning a top-six finish should be the aim. Five points behind Chelsea, Sunderland and Sunday’s opponents Fulham, who are all locked on eight points, means the gap isn’t quite so insurmountable.

However, a number of bookmakers believe the likes of Brighton and Crystal Palace have a better chance of finishing the season inside the top six, with Villa currently at a best price of 15/2 with Sporting Index to secure a European finish.