The Europa Conference League contenders are hoping to lay down an early marker on Thursday and Aston Villa start their campaign with a Group E trip to Legia Warsaw.

Villa, 4/1 favourites for the trophy, should be too strong for their hosts in Poland while Fiorentina, beaten by West Ham in last season's final, also feature in our Thursday Conference League accumulator.

Fenerbahce and AZ Alkmaar are expected to pick up three points on matchday one and our four selections make up an acca paying 13/1.

Thursday's Europa Conference League accumulator:

Aston Villa to beat Legia Warsaw @ 1/2
Fenerbahce to beat Nordsjaelland @ 8/15
AZ Alkmaar to beat Zrinjski Mostar @ 7/10
Fiorentina & Over 2.5 Goals v Genk @ 13/5

Accumulator pays 13/1

Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to fluctuation.

View the latest Football odds here
 

Emery's men can outclass hosts in Warsaw

What	Legia Warsaw v Aston Villa
Where	Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland
When	17:45, Thursday 21st September
How to watch	TNT Sports 2
Odds	Legia Warsaw 5/1, Draw 16/5, Aston Villa 1/2

Premier League representatives West Ham won the Europa Conference League last season and Aston Villa look to have a great chance of following suit under Unai Emery.

The Spanish coach claimed a hat-trick of Europa League titles with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, also guiding Villarreal to the trophy in 2021, and his Villa side cruised into the Conference League group stage with an 8-0 aggregate win over Hibernian in the playoff round.

Villa are 1/2 to see off 5/1 hosts Legia Warsaw in their opening group game and they look solid acca selections given their form under Emery.

They lost seven of their first 13 league games last season before he arrived to lead them to seventh place and they have beaten Everton 4-0, Burnley 3-1 and Crystal Palace 3-1 in the top flight this term.

Legia conceded 13 goals in their six qualifying ties so the home defence may well struggle against a classy Villa attack.  

Turkish giants set for opening victory 

What	Fenerbahce v Nordsjaelland
Where	Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
When	17:45, Thursday 21st September
How to watch	TNT Sports Digital Platforms
Odds	Fenerbahce 8/15, Draw 16/5, Nordsjaelland 19/4

Fenerbahce have made a superb start to the 2023/24 campaign, winning all 10 of their fixtures in the Turkish Super Lig and Conference League qualifying, and the 8/15 shots should extend that hot streak against 19/4 Nordsjaelland.

Fener thumped Twente 5-1 in the home leg of their Conference League playoff and have a host of in-from attacking players including veteran striker Edin Dzeko, who played for Inter Milan in last term's Champions League final.

Nordsjaelland have won only one of their last four games in the Danish league and could be overpowered by an experienced Fenerbahce side featuring Dusan Tadic, Cengiz Under, Sebastian Szymanski and former Manchester United midfielder Fred.

Free-scoring AZ may enjoy their trip to Mostar

What	Zrinjski Mostar v AZ Alkmaar
Where	HSK Zrinjski Stadium, Mostar, Bosnia
When	17:45, Thursday 21st September
How to watch	TNT Sports 9
Odds	Zrinjski Mostar 15/4, Draw 11/4, AZ Alkmaar 7/10

AZ Alkmaar, like Fenerbahce, are in good spirits going into their first group game after winning their first four Eredivisie matches by at least a two-goal margin.

They thumped Go Ahead Eagles 5-1 in their opener before beating RKC Waalwijk 3-1, Vitesse Arnhem 2-0 and Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 last weekend, when they scored twice in the first 20 minutes.

AZ needed penalties to sneak past Brann in the Conference League playoff round but could find things easier against Bosnian hosts Zrinjski Mostar, who have lost their last two league matches 1-0 and were knocked out of the Europa League qualifying competition by LASK of Austria.

2022/23 runners-up could claim entertaining win in Genk

What	Genk v Fiorentina
Where	Cegeka Arena, Genk, Belgium
When	17:45, Thursday 21st September
How to watch	TNT Sports 8
Odds	Genk 2/1, Draw 5/2, Fiorentina 13/10

Jarrod Bowen's late strike for West Ham condemned Fiorentina to a 2-1 defeat in last season's Conference League final but the Serie A side are regarded as serious trophy contenders once again.

La Viola are 13/10 for victory over 2/1 hosts Genk although it may be worth taking the 13/5 about Fiorentina winning a match featuring over 2.5 goals.

Their last six Serie A wins were by 5-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and 3-2 scorelines and they have also drawn 2-2 with Lecce and lost 4-0 at Inter this season.

Genk have scored in six of their last seven games in all competitions but Fiorentina found the net 21 times in their last six 2022/23 Conference League away matches and can show off their attacking prowess on Thursday's trip to Belgium.