
Aston Villa vs. Zrinjski Mostar Betting Tips: Two bets for Villans in Europe

Outright favourites for the Europa Conference League before a ball was kicked, Aston Villa need to bounce back from a surprise 3-2 defeat in match week one to Legia Warsaw.
Billy Grimshaw is backing them to get back on the right track against Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar at Villa Park on Thursday night and has two tips...
Unai Emery is of course a master in European competitions, but his Villa side's slow start in Poland last time out means he will have to play a stronger side than he'd have liked when the unheard of minnows from Bosnia, who sit top of the group at this early stage, come to town. Zrinjski Mostar triumphed at home over AZ Alkmaar in a pulsating encounter in match week one, winning 4-3 in a scarcely believable comeback win after being 3-0 down at half time. A real Europa Conference League classic.
Villa are of course no strangers this season to a high scoring affair and the neutrals tuning in for this one, as opposed to a range of other live games in both the UECL and UEL on Thursday night, will be hoping for plenty of goalmouth action for both sides. Aston Villa are riding high domestically and after a sloppy start to their Premier League campaign away at Newcastle they are right up to expectations now, sitting in fifth and coming here off the back of a 6-1 demolition of Roberto De Zerbi's highly rated Brighton team.
Emery thoroughly outcoached the fiery Italian with his 442 diamond bamboozling the innovative Seagulls and meaning chances were plentiful for the Villans, and with a similar line up and formation expected it could be a fun night in the second city when Zrinjski Mostar arrive at Villa Park. Nevertheless, Villa's price at 1/10 makes absolutely zero appeal from a betting perspective and so it's into the side markets we go.
Aston Villa vs. Zrinjski Mostar Tips
Aston Villa are undoubtedly one of the best English teams to watch at the moment, with Unai Emery's philosophy seeming to be however many you score, we'll score more. This reckless abandon toward the art of old school defending is probably irritating some of the dinosaurs that still roam around the English game, but for the neutral fan and for the Holte End faithful it is making for fantastic viewing. As mentioned in the introduction, Emery would probably have liked to rotate more heavily than he will end up doing due to match week one's results, but with the line-ups still hard to predict as this stage of the competition safer plays are to avoid player prop bets.
Only massive XG underperformers Chelsea and perennially unlucky Everton have failed to score against Aston Villa thus far in the Premier League, and the Toffees rectified that by knocking them out of the Carabao Cup 2-1. Villa may well rotate and play a slightly more cautious side here, but with Emery's penchant for an incredibly high line in defence it would be a brave punter to back them for a clean sheet in any game this season. Their opposition may have a name that needs a good three goes through the spell checker, but they have romped to domestic success in the past two seasons and look set to do so again so are at least a confident bunch.
Their team spirit was exemplified in that incredible comeback win over AZ last time out in this competition and they clearly do not struggle to hit the back of the net. I am surprised to see odds compilers favouring Villa to win to nil over the Villa win and BTTS here and at 23/10 with William Hill, this is a confident first tip of the preview.
With Villa's defensive frailties clear for all to see and my opinion being betting sites slightly underestimating the reigning Bosnian champions, the price on over 1.5 team goals for the away side of 11/1 with BetMGM looks an ideal longshot. As mentioned earlier team news is something of a lottery in this competition so banking on X or Y scoring a couple of goals for a bigger priced bet comes fraught with dangers of a void selection, however banking on the away team to nick a couple looks much more appealling.
Mostar of course scored four last time out in this competition at home to Alkmaar and indeed in the qualifying rounds put six past Breidablik. Admittedly Breidablik are hardly European royalty, but still the Bosnians are no slouches in front of goal and with Villa expected to dominate possession and play their trademark high line, 11/1 looks juicy about a few goals slipping past Emi Martinez.
Liverpool, Newcastle, and the aforementioned Legia Warsaw and Everton are the only sides so far this season to put 2 or more goals past Villa and so perhaps this bet is not for everyone, however I think at double figure odds there is enough chance that this becomes a classic European game of chess where the big boys dominate the ball and create chance after chance before the underdogs hit them on the break with snappy counters. Aston Villa are one of the best teams to face up against if you are a counter attacking team and with potential for rotation at Villa Park meaning players not quite up to his speed with Emery's kamikaze defensive shape could be on the field, we'll take our chances.

Subscribe now for the latest previews, exclusive tips supported by stats, and top offers sent directly to your inbox.