Aston Villa return to action in Europe on Thursday evening as Unai Emery’s squad travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax in the Europa Conference League round of 16.
The stage is set for Aston Villa to face the first leg of their round of 16 clash in the Europa Conference League, with Ajax waiting to test Unai Emery’s side on Thursday evening.
It’s set to be a blockbuster fixture between the two sides, who will be eyeing European silverware to bolster their respective 2023/24 seasons.
While Villa are on track to fight for Champions League football, Ajax are far from the side they once were, sitting fifth in the Eredivisie and featuring in the Conference League due to dropping out of the Europa League.
It’s set to be a challenge, as all European competitions are, however, the Villans will arguably go into the tie as favourites given their opponent’s recent fall from grace, with journalist John Townley sharing his verdict.
John Townley expects Aston Villa to beat Ajax on Thursday
Speaking on the Claret and Blue Podcast ahead of the fixture, Townley admitted that he expects Villa to win the tie against Ajax.
“I think Villa will win the game, to be honest, I’m quite confident that we won’t lose, whether we win it or draw it I don’t know.”
“It’s an opportunity for our players to go to a nice big stadium, a big pitch against a team who have struggled, who are no better than AZ Alkmaar who we’ve played twice this season.”
Townley’s comment on AZ Alkmaar breathes more life into Villa’s confidence going into Thursday’s game, considering that Ajax have lost twice to AZ in the Eredivisie and sit behind them in the table.
Rewinding to the group stages of the Europa Conference League, Emery saw his side score six goals over their two meetings with AZ, telling of the contrasting quality between the Premier League outfit and the Dutch representatives.
How Ajax can help Aston Villa during the game on Thursday
Aside from Ajax’s general decline over the years, Townley highlighted a point that could see Thursday’s hosts actually play to Villa’s advantage.
“They’re going to have to try and come out, something that will play in Villa’s hands in the competition because when teams play at home, they know this is their opportunity.”
“They’re going to have to try and win this leg I think, which could actually help Villa, give more space to the likes of Bailey, Diaby, Watkins to score some goals.”
With the second and decisive leg to be played at Villa Park, Thursday is Ajax’s chance to use their home crowd to their advantage in preparation for the battle in Birmingham.
By coming out of the traps fast, John van ‘t Schip’s side may increase their chances in attack, but equally leave themselves short in defence, something that Villa could use to exploit their opposition with the pace and quality they possess in attack.
It will be an interesting test for the Villans, who could send out a statement to the competition with a strong performance in Amsterdam on Thursday.
