Go Ahead Eagles vs Aston Villa best bets, predictions and preview

Football betting tips: Europa League

2.5pts Joris Kramer to commit 1+ fouls at 5/6 (bet365)

1pt Joris Kramer to commit 2+ fouls at 4/1 (bet365)

Kick-off: Thursday, 17:45 BSTTV: TNT Sports 1

Aston Villa failed to win any of their opening six games in all competitions, failing to even score a goal in their first four, but their fortunes began to change after a win in their opening Europa League game.

Unai Emery’s side ground out a 1-0 win over Bologna and haven’t looked back since as they head to the Netherlands looking for their sixth win on the spin.

The Villans have taken maximum points from two games on the continent and came from behind to beat Tottenham at the weekend; any excuse to post Emi Buendia’s match winner…

Thursday’s opponents Go Ahead Eagles have made a mixed start in the league and Europe (W3 D4 L4) losing their opening game in this competition to FCSB before winning at Panathinaikos.

Although Villa should have enough quality to win on Thursday, they look a touch short at 4/9. Anyway, I think there is a bit of value in the player foul market.

In his native Eredivisie, JORIS KRAMER has not committed a single foul in eight of his nine appearances. He also hasn’t completed a single tackle or foul in a third of his league appearances.

So naturally, I am touting Go Ahead Eagles’ central defender to commit 1+ FOUL and 2+ FOULS at tasty prices with bet365.

Firstly, in two Europa League appearances he has completed three tackles in one game and committed three fouls in the other. So, clearly Kramer is more aggressive on the continent.

The second thing to consider is his direct opponent. It should be Ollie Watkins and he is good at drawing fouls.

In the Premier League, Watkins has drawn 1.1 fouls per game and across seven league starts, all bar one of the 16 opposition central defenders have committed at least one foul against him.

In this competition he drew three fouls against Feyenoord and two in a 32-minute cameo against Bologna.

Here is where it gets interesting, Kramer is a left sided centre-back and it is the side of central defence which has committed the most fouls against Villa this season in Europe.

Against both Feyenoord and Bologna, both of the left sided centre-backs committed three fouls and all bar one of the fouls was committed when Watkins was on the pitch.

So, in his 10 appearances in the top flight and Europe, every opposition left sided centre-back has committed at least one foul against Watkins.

It is worth noting Watkins returned from the international break with an issue which kept him out of the starting line-up at Tottenham on Sunday but that could work in our favour here as he came on after an hour. So, he should lead the line in the Eagles’ Nest.

Odds correct at 1200 BST (22/10/25)

Go Ahead Eagles vs Aston Villa best bets, predictions and preview

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