Europa League will be a good avenue for Aston Villa to win some much-needed silverware for the club. Even though the Unai Emery side has struggled to this point of the campaign, many still believe that the club will be able to do well in this particular European competition.
X account Football Rankings shared a post that gives the likelihood of the best perceived clubs in this year's Europa League competition to win in Istanbul at the end of the tournament.
Villa is currently being viewed as the favorite with a 20% chance to win.
This should not come as a surprise. Many would agree that this Villa side is significantly better than many of the other participants. That is not to say that the trophy is sealed. Far from it.
Anything can happen. Especially in Europe, an overachieving side or equally capable team can pose a threat to anyone for any given match. Although Villa are credibly considered the favorites, there is still plenty of good competition that will stand in the way of Unai Emery's side.
Among the other listed teams, AS Roma and Nottingham Forest are also expected to go far. Lille, too, is a team that has proven to be highly capable on the European stage.
Different approach from Aston Villa
To this point Villa have widely been viewed as underdogs, whether it be in the Premier League or Champions League. Now, however, Villa will face a different type of challenge. Villa are going to enter this European competition with a great amount of expectations. This brings a different type of pressure compared to being the one aiming to unseat a favorite.
Although a lot of factors are working against Villa at the moment, potentially winning on this European stage would be an incredible achievement for the club.