Will Aston Villa make top 4? Predictions, betting odds for 2023/24 season

Aston Villa enjoyed a fantastic second half of last season which coincided with the sacking of Steven Gerrard and the appointment of Unai Emery. 

Before Emery took charge Villa were hovering above the relegation zone, but come the end of the season they'd achieved their highest-place finish in over a decade. As they finished seventh, Villa qualified for the Europa Conference League. It will be the first time that the club has competed in European football in 13 years.

That now means their fixture calendar intensifies, which has seen the board bring in some exciting talent to the squad. 

How far can that talent take them is to be determined but is it foolish to write their chances of a top-four finish off?

Premier League top four odds

Aston Villa 2023/24 prediction: Too much competition for top four?

Breaking into the top four of the Premier League is arguably one of the toughest challenges in world football. 

To do so, Villa would have to outperform the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United. Along with the other challengers, Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford. 

Emery has brought in Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans this summer which should bolster the squad depth in order to compete in both the Conference League and Premier League. 

For the last four seasons in a row, Diaby has 10+ goal contributions in the Bundesliga at Bayer Leverkusen and has already hit the ground running in the preseason. 

How the squad manages to perform on a Thursday night and then straight into a league clash on Sunday afternoon is yet to be determined and has taken its toll on teams in the past. 

However, Villa can take inspiration from the likes of Newcastle and Leicester over the last few years, who did break that 'big six' barrier and qualify for Champions League football.

Under the Spanish boss, Villa won 49 points from 25 matches, a points-per-match average of 1.96, which was the fourth-best in the Premier League since he joined. 

If they were to keep that fourth-best points-per-match average for the entire season, they would qualify for the Champions League. Never say never? 

Have Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League before?

Villa have never played in the Champions League, however, they have been crowned European champions. 

In 1982 they defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the European Cup final after a goal from Peter Withe in the second half. 

Under Martin O'Neill between 2007 and 2010 they qualified for the Europa League in successive seasons after finishing sixth in the Premier League.