On Sunday, Unai Emery’s men suffered a humiliating 4-0 drubbing at the hands of top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Four days later, Aston Villa will aim to book their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals when Ajax visit the West Midlands for the second leg of their last-16 clash.
This preview contains all the key stats, trends, analysis and predictions for Thursday’s showdown. Without further ado, it’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗢𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟴 pic.twitter.com/SuihUnfloR— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) March 12, 2024
𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗢𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟴 pic.twitter.com/SuihUnfloR
Let’s start with the hosts, Aston Villa, who were thrashed by Spurs last time out, registering 30% possession and a solitary attempt on target.
The Villa Park fortress has been attacked on multiple occasions in recent months, as Emery’s side have lost four of their previous five home games across all competitions.
That said, the Villains have enjoyed an impressive European campaign up to now, recording six wins, two draws and one defeat across qualifiers and competition clashes.
After hammering Hibernian 8-0 on aggregate to reach the Conference League, Aston Villa scored 12 goals in six group games, meaning they average 2.2 goals per game.
Ajax, on the other hand, were held to a 2-2 draw by Fortuna Sittard on Sunday, despite racking up 73% possession and 17 shots on home soil.
As a result, the Dutch giants have managed to win just two of their last nine matches across all competitions, recording five draws and two losses in that time.
Earlier this season, Ajax were eliminated from the Europa League after picking up a solitary victory in six games, conceding 13 goals in the process.
However, Ajax remain unbeaten since dropping into the Conference League, with a whopping five red cards coming in their three matches.
Head-to-head: Interestingly, both teams registered four shots and one attempt on target during the first leg, while both sides finished the game with 10 men.
Thanks to a 2-1 victory in the UEFA Cup back in 2008, Ajax have yet to taste defeat against Aston Villa, recording one win and one draw so far.
Team news: Aston Villa’s injury list contains Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara, while Ezri Konsa is suspended.
Ajax’s Tristan Gooijer is also suspended for the second leg, while Steven Berghuis is injured. Plus, there are question marks over Gaston Avila, Steven Bergwijn and Amourricho van Axel Dongen.
Given that Aston Villa have won all four of their European home games this term – scoring eight goals in the process – Ajax will struggle to advance on Thursday.
Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts that Aston Villa will book their place in the quarter-finals with a clean-sheet victory over Ajax.