Aston Villa odds: Ways to back The Villans in the 2026/27 season

Aston Villa have finished in or around the top five for four seasons running, and last season they finally added the silverware to match – a Europa League triumph in Istanbul – as well as fourth place in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League. When Unai Emery took charge in October 2022, Villa were languishing in 17th.

The question now is whether that was the ceiling or the springboard. Morgan Rogers has been sold for a British record fee, with Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and now Ezri Konsa all moving on, and the latest Aston Villa odds reflect that caution. Backing The Villans in the title or top-four race is only one route in, though – and several of the other outright markets may return better value.

Odds on Aston Villa to win the league

Heading into the new season, here is how the bookies see the Premier League shaping up:

• Arsenal – 6/5 with BOYLE Sports
• Man City – 7/2 with Betfred
• Liverpool – 6/1 with Sky Bet
• Man United – 8/1 with bet365
• Chelsea – 8/1 with Paddy Power
• Aston Villa – 66/1 with Coral

*Odds correct as of 21st August, and are subject to change.

Defending champions Arsenal head the market after finally ending their 22-year wait for a title, and the top of the betting has a familiar look to it. Villa, at 66/1, sit a long way down that list – which rather undersells how close they came to gatecrashing it last season.

Emery’s side could hardly have started worse, taking six games to record a first win and scoring just once in their opening five. 

What followed was extraordinary: they garnered 12 wins in 13, including seven in a row in the league and 10 successive victories in all competitions. A 2-1 win over Manchester United just before Christmas, with Morgan Rogers scoring both, left them third – three points behind Arsenal and one behind Manchester City.

However, they could not sustain it. Injuries from February onwards stretched a squad already juggling a deep European run, and the challenge quietly fell away. Villa still finished fourth on 65 points, signed off with a 2-1 win over Manchester City on the final day, and beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul to claim their first European trophy in 44 years.

This summer has been about balancing the books, and the bookies have marked them down accordingly. Do not dismiss the manager, though – since Emery arrived, only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have banked more Premier League points. That is a huge price for a coach with that record, and it will not survive a strong start.

In addition to this, BOYLE Sports have launched an enticing season-opener for punters, whereby you can back your Premier League champion with a £20 stake before kick-off and pocket a £5 free bet every time they triumph throughout August and September. It is a savvy way to extract extra value from an Aston Villa title punt, rewarding every early-season victory as Emery’s men look to build momentum.

How Aston Villa can feature in the Premier League title race

Villa showed last season that they can live with the best of them over half a campaign. The challenge now is doing it across a full one, with a rebuilt midfield and Champions League football to juggle. Here are the reasons to believe they can.

Aston Villa current squad and manager

Villa have lost four key men in one window. Rogers left for £117million after 31 goals and 29 assists in 125 games, Manchester United triggered Youri Tielemans’ £35million release clause, Digne moved to Paris Saint-Germain after 182 appearances, and Konsa has joined Arsenal for £51million. Amadou Onana ruptured his ACL at the World Cup and will miss most of the season. The caution is understandable.

But the spine that won a European trophy is intact. Matty Cash and John McGinn remain, and Boubacar Kamara is back from a serious knee injury. Emiliano Martínez is still at the club, though the arrival of Zion Suzuki has reopened questions over his future. Ollie Watkins scored 21 goals in all competitions last term, matching Viktor Gyökeres’ tally for Arsenal. The one to watch is Emi Buendía – man of the match in the Europa League final, and now with the number 10 role to himself.

There is a wildcard, too. Brian Madjo joined from Metz in January for around £10million, only to spend seven months in limbo after FIFA blocked his registration as the international transfer of a minor. Villa took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won, so the 6ft 4in teenager – a Ligue 1 debutant at 16, and scorer of four pre-season goals – is available for the Premier League and Champions League all season rather than kicking his heels until his 18th birthday in January.

Transfer activity – ins and outs

Villa’s player trading strategy is clear: to sell high, reinvest in youth and stay the right side of the financial rules. Johan Manzambi arrives from Freiburg as a club-record signing in a deal that could reach £59.5million, having starred for Switzerland at the World Cup before Villa hijacked the move from under Newcastle’s noses. He is still working back from a knee injury picked up at that tournament, but is a box-to-box midfielder with energy, a long throw and a shot on him – a Swiss Army knife rather than a like-for-like Rogers replacement.

João Gomes brings back the steel that Onana’s absence removed, while Alejandro Garnacho arrives on loan looking for a career reset. Tielemans’ creativity and game control will be missed most of all. Watch this space for further movement – Konsa’s exit has made centre-back the priority, with Tosin Adarabioyo and Fikayo Tomori both linked, and further attacking cover looks likely before the window shuts on 1st September.

Key fixtures in the 2026/27 season

Villa open away at Brighton, having already lost 2-1 to PSG in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, before hosting champions Arsenal on 31 August – a game that may well hand Konsa his Arsenal debut at Villa Park. They then face Hull, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

That is a far tougher start than last season’s, which was widely reckoned the kindest in the division – and Villa won none of those five. Forest’s visit is a rematch of the Europa League semi-final Villa settled with a 4-0 second leg at Villa Park.

Coventry are back in the top flight for the first time since 2001, and the December trip to the CBS is a Midlands derby that has been a long time coming. The festive block is brutal – Chelsea away, Leeds and Liverpool at home, then Bournemouth and Everton away, five games in 18 days. The run-in is no kinder, with Manchester City away before Tottenham visit on the final day.

Aston Villa odds in other outright markets

Even if Villa fall short in the title and top-four races, there are plenty of other ways you can back The Villans in outright bets this coming season.

To win a trophy

Villa ended a 30-year wait for silverware last season, and the bookies make the FA Cup their likeliest route to another at 14/1. It is a competition that should suit them. Emery is a master when it comes to knockout football – he’s the most successful manager in Europa League history with five titles across three clubs. His sides are known for their organisation, set pieces and a goalkeeper who relishes the big occasion count for far more over one leg than squad depth does across 38 games.

This one would not have landed last season, with Villa’s silverware coming in Europe, but the maths is less daunting than the price suggests: six wins from the third round and a first FA Cup since 1957 is theirs. Get them as far as the fifth round in February and that 14/1 will already have shortened considerably, giving you a live bet and a good cash out long before Wembley.

Back Aston Villa to win the FA Cup at 14/1 with bet365

Top on Christmas Day

Eighteen of the 34 sides top of the table on Christmas Day have gone on to win the Premier League, which makes this as good a barometer as any of how the title race is shaping up. Villa were closer to it than most people remember last year. They went into 25 December third, but only three points behind Arsenal and one behind Manchester City, having already beaten the eventual champions at Villa Park and with a club-record winning run in full flow. 

Repeating it would be a punt rather than a prediction, and the calendar does not help – Villa’s last game before Christmas is away at Chelsea, so their festive position is effectively settled at Stamford Bridge. 

Come through that opening five in decent shape, though, and the run from 31 October, taking in Fulham, Sunderland, Ipswich, Everton and Crystal Palace, is where a charge could be built.

Tip Aston Villa to be top on Christmas Day at 25/1 with Betway

Top scorer

Erling Haaland is 4/6 and nobody is seriously arguing, with Alexander Isak at 9/1 and Igor Thiago at 10/1 heading the rest. Watkins is the next name on the list at 16/1.

The case for him is better than the price suggests. Watkins has scored 10 or more league goals in each of his six seasons at the club and hit 16 last term despite that wretched start, with only Haaland and Thiago managing more shots on target.

No Aston Villa player has ever won the Golden Boot, and he would need to break 20 to do it – a mark he has never quite reached. With Rogers gone, though, more of the attack runs through him than ever.

Back Ollie Watkins to be Premier League top scorer at 16/1 with Betfred

FAQs about Aston Villa ahead of the 2026/27 season

1. Who are likely to become Aston Villa’s key players as they aim to fight for the top four?

Watkins and Martínez remain the two most important players at the club – one guarantees goals, the other has been the difference in more tight games than anyone. Beyond them, Villa need Manzambi to settle quickly and Buendía to stay fit, because between them they have to replace the creativity of both Rogers and Tielemans.

2. Who are likely to be Aston Villa’s main rivals in the top-four race and other domestic competitions?

Chelsea and Tottenham are the direct threats, with Newcastle capable of a strong season, and Villa will also need one of Manchester United, Liverpool or Manchester City to stumble. The so-called big six are always expected to go deep in the cups, but Newcastle and Crystal Palace have both won those recently, so the field is wider than it once was.

3. When are the best times to lock in the best odds for Aston Villa in the markets mentioned in this article?

Early, in almost every case. Villa are priced on a rebuild, so any momentum will shorten them quickly – as it did last autumn. The exception is the top-four market: if they start slowly again, as in each of the last two seasons, that 9/2 could drift further still while the rebuild settles.

About the author

Zack Lane

Zack Patrick Lane is an enthusiastic sports writer and lifelong Aston Villa supporter who passionately follows the beautiful game. With a most improved player award being his highest accolade in youth football, Zack turned to writing about football rather than playing it. Today, he channels that passion into his commentary, while also keeping a keen eye on a wide range of other sports.

Find Zack’s socials:

• X: @avfczackpatrick
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