A supercomputer has taken a look at how Aston Villa could fare in the Champions League this season ahead of their campaign kicking off next week.
It’s been over 40 years since Aston Villa qualified for the prestigious competition but next week, the wait for the fans is finally over.
Villa travel to Young Boys in the evening kick-off for their first Champions League game. Supporters are filled with excitement, particularly for their home ties against Bayern Munich and Celtic, but some of that positivity has been taken away by the ridiculous ticket pricing.
Fans were left enraged at the prices Aston Villa have set for their Champions League home games and Stan Collymore branded the pricing as ‘disgraceful’, with some people paying £97 for a ticket.
Despite the steep ticket prices, the general admission for that game has sold out as the Villans return to Europe’s elite competition.
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Supercomputer predicts Aston Villa’s Champions League fate
The Champions League is what every team in world football aspires to be in and Villa – thanks to their master Unai Emery – can look forward to some thrilling nights ahead.
In the group phase, the Premier League side will play eight games, including against Bayern, Celtic and Juventus, with Villa needing to finish in the top eight to automatically qualify for the last 16.
As per the Opta Analyst, the chances of Emery’s men finishing as one of the eight best teams has been rated at 11.3% while they’re more likely to finish between ninth and 24th to land in the play-off round (55.3%).
Further, the supercomputer thinks Villa have a 32.3% chance of reaching the last 16 and 9.4% for the quarter-finals, while it’s as low as 2.6% and 0.6% for them to get to the semi-final or final respectively.
What is a successful Champions League campaign for Aston Villa
The last English newcomers to the competition were Leicester City in the 2016/17 campaign and they won their first game with Club Brugge before reaching the quarter-finals and bowing out against Atletico Madrid.
That was an immense achievement from a Foxes side managed by Brendan Rodgers, as most Villa supporters would perhaps settle for making it out of the group phase and reaching the last 16.
With so many world-class teams in the competition, including Real Madrid and Manchester City, fans aren’t expecting their side to come anywhere near winning it.
However, a campaign where they record a few wins in the group and perhaps reach the knockout rounds can be regarded as a success for Aston Villa.
