Bournemouth v Aston Villa: Prediction, tips and bet builder as battle for Europe intensifies

The English top-flight never had as many European possibilities as it does this season, and the likes of Aston Villa and Bournemouth will be looking to capitalise.

Let’s start with the Villans. Unai Emery’s men got a taste of Champions League football this season and they will want another dose in the next campaign.

With just three league matches remaining, Villa find themselves three points away from the top five, meaning Champions League football is still a possibility but only as long as Emery’s men pick up maximum points in these final games.

Succeed, and Villa can look forward to another season of shoulder rubbing with some of the biggest club in world football. Fail, and they will have to make do with one of the two junior European competitions.

For Bournemouth, the situation is a tad more complex. The Cherries are still hopeful of an eighth placed finish which could secure Europa Conference League qualification. Of course, there are caveats. 

For instance, the FA Cup final will have a lot to do with it. If Manchester City win the cup and finish in the top five, their newly won Europa League spot will go to the next best placed team – that’s seventh-placed Villa as things stand.

However, should Crystal Palace prevail at Wembley, the Eagles will steal that Europa League place while the seventh-placed side will have to accept their fate in the Conference League.

Confused? You’re not alone.

All you have to know is that finishing eighth in the Premier League could lead to European qualification – something that Bournemouth could only dream about just a few years ago.

Andoni Iraola has done a truly tremendous job on the south coast, and it won’t be much of a surprise if we see him at a bigger club come next season.

At the same time, Unai Emery has also worked wonders during his time in Birmingham. The Spaniard took over an underwhelming Villa side from Steven Gerrard and turned them into Champions League quarter-finalists. A truly remarkable achievement.

Both teams have a lot to play for on Saturday night, meaning we should be in for a juicy game at the Vitality Stadium.

Here we pick out some of our best tips for this juicy Premier League meeting, and if you put it into a Betway bet builder you’ll get odds of around 7/1.

Bournemouth v Aston Villa bet builder

Both teams to score – 1/2

Under 3.5 goals – 11/20

Evanilson to score or assist – 5/4

Ollie Watkins to have 1+ shots on target – 1/3

Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

Bournemouth come into Saturday’s clash in high spirits having beaten Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates last weekend.

Iraola’s men are unbeaten in five games and are full of confidence after their exploits in the capital last time out.

Aston Villa are also in good form having won 11 of their last 14 matches across all competitions.

Their three defeats have all come in high-profile games, including PSG in the Champions League, Man City in the Premier League and, most recently, Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final.

Considering we have a meeting of two strong teams, our first two additions to the acca are both teams to score and under 3.5 goals.

In terms of specific player bets, we’re throwing Evanilson to the fold, backing the Cherries man to score or assist. The Brazilian has six goal contributions in his last seven outings for Bournemouth.

We close out the bet builder by backing Ollie Watkins to have one or more shots on target. The 29-year-old is Villa’s top scorer this season in the Premier League with 15 goals to his name and he is certainly capable of causing Bournemouth problems.

Bournemouth v Aston Villa: How to watch and listen

Bournemouth v Aston Villa will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, NOW TV, SKY GO Extra and Sky GO. Live radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

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