PSG v Aston Villa Prediction: Asenio 22/5 to hurt Parisian pay masters

Aston Villa travel to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-final first leg looking to do something Liverpool couldn’t – overcome the French champions (8pm, TNT Sports 1).

Luis Enrique’s side, who knocked Liverpool out on penalties, in the last round, secured their 13th Ligue 1 title on Saturday with six games to spare.

They sit 24 points clear of second-placed Monaco after winning 23 and drawing the other five of their 28 games so far.

With the league wrapped up, PSG can now concentrate fully on securing a first Champions League title and most betting sites make them favourites to be crowned European champions, just ahead of Barcelona.

Villa, on the other hand, are 35/1 outsiders for to lift the European Cup for a second time in the outright Champions League odds and, so far, they have more than matched everyone they have faced in the Champions League.

Playing in Europe’s top competition for the first time since 1982/83, Villa have been one of the surprise packages, finishing eighth in the league table with 16 points from their opening eight games.

They beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in their second match and that set the tone for a strong league phase with their only defeats coming against Club Brugge and Monaco.

They got their revenge over the Belgian side last time out, beating them 6-1 on aggregate to reach the last eight.

We all saw what PSG are capable of over two legs against Liverpool in the last round, although they needed penalties to secure the victory.

The Reds had Alisson to thank for their 1-0 first-leg win in Paris, making a string of saves to keep a clean sheet before Harvey Elliott broke the deadlock with just three minutes to go.

Ousmane Dembele’s strike secured a 1-0 win for the Parisians at Anfield before the French giants won 4-1 on penalties.

They have certainly improved as the tournament has gone on, putting behind them defeats to Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich early on and a draw with PSV Eindhoven.

Football betting sites have the French side as the favourites for victory at 10/23 while you can get 15/2 on a Villa win and 22/5 on a draw.

While this is the first time Villa have played in the European Cup, let alone reached the last eight, since 1983, PSG have reached this stage four times in the last six seasons and they have won their last three quarter-final ties.

PSG vs Aston Villa prediction 1: PSG to win by one goal – 14/5 Betway

It is a return to the Parc des Princes for Villa boss Unai Emery who managed PSG between 2016 and 2018, winning the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Ligue 1 during his time there.

Despite winning their last seven matches in a row, Emery will know this will be their toughest test yet.

Marco Asensio, who moved to Villa Park on loan from PSG, has played a key role in the Villans' recent good run, with eight goals in his last eight games, including two apiece against Chelsea, Cardiff and Club Brugge.

He will be allowed to play against his parent club and you wouldn’t put it past him scoring his 11th goal of the season.

Some betting apps offer the Spaniard at 22/5 to score any time, while fellow loanee Marcus Rashford is 17/4 to score his first Champions League goal of the season.

PSG v Aston Villa prediction 2: Asensio to score at any time – 22/5 Unibet

Unibet are giving bettors the chance to claim a £5 free bet builder to use on football this week.

All they have to do to qualify is opt in to the offer and place a bet builder on any Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League match.

The bet builder must have combined odds of 3/1 or greater to qualify.

Once the bet builder wager has been settled, Unibet will credit punters with a £5 free bet builder, which can be used on football and expires after seven days.

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