Match preview: Basel vs Aston Villa, 3:00 AM, December 12th: Extending the winning streak.

VHO - Analyzing the Basel vs Aston Villa match in the Europa League classification round, it is expected that Unai Emery's team will extend their winning streak to eight matches at St. Jakob-Park.

Basel vs Aston Villa form

Once a prominent name, regularly representing Swiss football in the Champions League, Basel has failed to maintain the impressive position it held nearly a decade ago.

It wasn't until the most recent season, 2024/25, that the team at St. Jakob-Park marked their return to the league with an 8-year wait. However, the team under coach Ludovic Magnin also failed to qualify for the Champions League qualifying rounds due to a 1-3 aggregate defeat at the hands of FC Copenhagen in the play-off round.

Dropping down to the Europa League, Basel continues to struggle. After 5 matches, the Swiss champions have only won 2 and lost 3, currently sitting 24th out of 36, a position that could potentially secure a place in the play-offs for the Round of 16. If there's one positive aspect to Xherdan Shaqiri and his teammates, it's undoubtedly their home record.

In all three of their home matches in European competitions this season, Basel have remained undefeated, securing one draw and two wins. Their victories against Stuttgart (2-0) and FCSB (3-1) were particularly important, keeping coach Magnin's team in contention for qualification.

However, overall, Basel's form since the start of the season has been quite inconsistent. In their last 10 matches, the team at St. Jakob-Park has only won 4, drawn 3, and lost 3. In the national league, Basel's hopes of defending their title are facing many challenges as they are currently ranked 3rd, 7 points behind the leaders FC Thun.

The chances of progressing further in the Europa League are also relatively dim. After facing top title contender Aston Villa, the home team will also have to contend with Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) and Red Bull Salzburg (Austria).

Compared to their rivals, Aston Villa are clearly showing a much more optimistic performance. Last weekend, thanks to their 2-1 victory at home against Arsenal, the Birmingham team climbed to third place, just three points behind the Premier League leaders.

Aston Villa are in high spirits after their victory against Arsenal last weekend.

The impressive performance at Villa Park also marked the seventh consecutive victory for Unai Emery's team across all competitions. Not only are they thriving in domestic leagues, but Villa are also very close to securing a direct spot in the Europa League Round of 16.

Before their trip to Switzerland, the Premier League representatives were ranked 3rd with 12 points. If they continue their winning streak this week, Morgan Rogers and his teammates will almost certainly secure a direct spot in the knockout round of 16.

Basel vs Aston Villa team news

Basel: Young striker Kaio Eduardo will be unavailable due to an internal suspension.

Aston Villa: Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley are two notable absences for the away team.

Predicted lineups for Basel vs Aston Villa

Basel: Hitz; Tsunemoto, Adjetey, Daniliuc, Schmid; Metinho, Bacanin; Shaqiri, Leroy, Otele; Broschinski

Aston Villa: Bizot; Bogarde, Lindelof, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Buendia, Tielemans, Rogers; Malen

Prediction: 1-2

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/nhan-dinh-tran-dau-basel-vs-aston-villa-3h00-ngay-1212-noi-dai-mach-thang-hoa-187317.html