Aston Villa vs Lille Prediction and Betting Tips: Back this 22/1 double on Thursday

Tournament favourites Aston Villa take on Lille at Villa Park in the first of a glamorous Europa Conference League quarter-final double header with their French counterparts on Thursday.

In the previous knockout round, Villa came out unscathed against an inconsistent Ajax side, ultimately hitting the Dutch side for four at this very ground in the second leg. Over the weekend, Unai Emery's men spared their blushes by earning a point versus Brentford after the hosts threw away a two-goal lead.

Thursday's visitors will be buoyed by their 3-0 win in the round of 32 away leg with Sturm Graz. Meanwhile, Ligue 1 duties are going strong for LOSC who look set to improve on last season's 5th-placed finish, currently sitting five points clear in 4th having put together back-to-back victories.

Hopefully following in the footsteps of the first two Champions League quarter-finals this week should see a few goals in this competitive matchup. Both have entertained in the Europa Conference League, with Lille winning their last two away matches in the competition, while Villa still boast an admirable home record this season despite some recent blips.

The first part of this bet has landed in seven of AVFC's last 10 matches, with the same being said for half of Lille's fixtures across this same sample size. Only league leaders PSG and 3rd-placed Monaco have outscored Lille in Ligue 1, so they should pose a serious threat to the home side in B6.

As for this goals line, 3+ has landed in eight of the last 10 for the English club. Villa have won all five home games in the UECL, but hold only a solitary win on their travels, meaning Emery could well put the onus on his side securing the victory at Villa Park, leaving nothing to chance near the Belgian border next week.

We fancy Lille to carry a significant goal threat during their trip to Birmingham and if they are to breach the home goal then no other individual is more likely to do so than Jonathan David.

The 24-year-old Canadian striker holds an impressive record of 68 goals in 140 games for Lille since joining from Gent in 2020. This season he's put away 23 in 39, with three of those coming in six Europa Conference League outings.

He netted two in his last away game in this tournament, leaving him with seven in his last seven and approaching Villa Park in some serious form.

Likewise, someone who is slowly finding his feet in a Villa shirt is Morgan Rogers - the club's sole January transfer window signing. The 21-year-old former Man City academy product looks a big price as a 6/1 single to be carded, with bet365 going a couple of notches shorter at 4/1.

The higher up in English football Rogers has played the more cards he seems to receive. Three seasons ago, he received two in 25 during a loan spell at League One club Lincoln City. The following term, while on loan at Blackpool, he picked a further two in 22 in the Championship. Finally, Middlesbrough permanently signed the midfielder, who collected seven yellows in 33 appearances for the club before leaving.

Until recently he'd been limited to cameos from the bench, but has now found a place in this Villa team under current circumstances. He's already picked up two bookings in nine for his new employers, resulting in three cards across his last nine starts for Boro and Villa.

After scoring his first goal for the club and providing an assist at the Etihad days before that, Rogers will be keen to continue his upward trajectory and that could very easily translate to a booking in this important quarter-final first leg.