Aston Villa have made the perfect start to their UEFA Champions League campaign and will be confident they can make it three wins out of three on Wednesday night when they take on Viking FK.
Newcomers Viking are the visitors to Villa Park and will also be bullish after dramatically snatching a 3-3 draw against Bayern München last week and so securing their first ever point in the league phase.
Both these teams' games so far have been a riot of goals so a decent crowd will be expecting fireworks - and the home fans anticipating a comfortable win for their team.
Aston Villa v Viking FK Tips Summary
Best Bet - Aston Villa/Over 3.5 goals @ 21/20
Alternative Bet - Matty Cash to score or assist @ 7/4
Bet Builder - John McGinn to score or assist, Peter Christiansen 1+ ahots, Aston Villa over 19.5 shots, Joe Bell 2+ fouls committed @ 23/4
Aston Villa v Viking FK Prediction
Best Bet: Aston Villa/Over 3.5 Goals @ 21/20
Unai Emery's side are 2/9 to see off Viking FK and make it three wins out of three in the UEFA Champions League.
Given the form they are in and the evident gulf between the Premier League and Eliteserien the odds are hard to dispute, even though this is a Viking side who held Bayern München to a 3-3 draw last week.
Viking tried to go toe to toe with the Germans so credit where it is due but this away fixture looks harder.
They lost their opening away game, 3-1 at Stuttgart, and have conceded an eye-watering 85 shots in four ties so far, the two legs against Dinamo Zagreb in the play-off round and their two league-phase openers.
Morten Jensen's team looks like a side that is going to cough up chances and ship goals so take Villa to win in a game featuring over 3.5 goals. Villa's wins so far have been 3-2 at Club Brugge and 6-0 at home to Fenerbahçe.
Alternative Bet: Matty Cash to score or assist @ 7/4
Matty Cash will be more right winger than right back as Villa pen the Norwegians in.
He had a couple of shots in last week's 6-0 drubbing of Fenerbahçe to no avail and can be a threat once again.
All the Villa frontmen are odds-on in Score or Assist betting so throw a dart at Polish ace Cash at a nice price.
Aston Villa v Viking FK Bet Builder Tip
John McGinn to score or assist
Peter Christiansen 1+ shots
Aston Villa over 19.5 shots
Joe Bell 2+ fouls committed
Pays 23/4
John McGinn has two goals and two assists to his name this season and can add to that tally against Viking.
The all-action Scot is going to be a constant threat in what ought to be a largely one-sided affair and can score or assist.
One-sided perhaps but Viking, if previous outings are anything to go by, will not die wondering.
Peter Christiansen is in career-best form with goals in his last six games and ought to be trusted to at least get a shot off.
Most shots will be the other way, however, with Villa taken to deliver over 19.5. Viking are conceding an average of 21 shots per game so it could be a long night for them.
Viking's New Zealand midfielder Joe Bell has had three yellow cards in four UEFA Champions League ties this term and does put his foot in.
Bell committed two fouls at Stuttgart, another against Bayern, and should be taken to commit two fouls at least at Villa Park.
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Key Match Stats
Aston Villa are on six points after two matchdays courtesy of a 3-2 win at Club Brugge and a 6-0 demolition of Fenerbahçe
Viking's first-ever league phase campaign began with a 3-1 loss at Stuttgart before Herman Haugen struck in injury time to earn the Norwegians a 3-3 draw at home to Bayern München
Villa have had four wins and a draw from their last five games culminating in Saturday night's 1-0 win at Newcastle
The Norwegian side beat Dinamo Zagreb 5-3 on aggregate to qualify for the league phase - all four of their UEFA Champions League ties this season have produced over 3.5 goals
Only Paris Saint-Germain (23) have had more shots on target than Villa (20) during the first two rounds of games
Peter Christiansen is Viking's top scorer this season with 18 goals - he has scored in each of his last six appearances, scoring eight goals over that period
Viking's four UEFA Champions League ties this season have produced 52 corners at exactly 13 per game
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
