The Daily Acca: Villa to protect their lead against the Boro

Bet 1: Under 2.5 Goals in Aston Villa v Middlesbrough @ 8/13 – KO 19:45 BST

Most of the hard work was done at the Riverside by Aston Villa as they travelled up north for the first leg and took a 1-0 lead. They are now firmly in the driving seat to meet Fulham in the Play-off final, and I can’t see Steve Bruce taking any risks this evening.

His team have a great defensive record anyway – especially at home. They conceded one against Derby in their last match here, but prior to that it had been three clean sheets in a row. All of their last three at Villa Park have seen under 2.5 backers collect and they have no real reason to be too adventurous tonight.

The visitors are on the back-foot given Saturday’s result, but they also know that a 1-0 win for them would force extra time. Conceding a goal would mean that they need three themselves, so don’t expect Tony Pulis to send his players out in all-out attack mode.

Bet 2: Back St Patrick’s Athletic @ 11/20 – KO 19:45 BST

Over to Ireland now for a Premier Division fixture that St Patrick’s should prove too strong for Sligo Rovers in.

St Pats are fifth in the table having taken 24 points from their 16 outings to date. They come into the game in good form with two wins from their two latest fixtures – both without conceding a goal.

After losing their opening home match of the season to Cork City, they have since gone six undefeated, with four of the last five being victories.

The visitors this evening are Sligo Rovers and they are eighth of 10 in the division. They only have 15 points to date, and they have lost nine of their 16 matches.

On their travels it’s three defeats from their last five, and they come into the game having lost to Bohemians and Dundalk.

Bet 3: Back Vitesse @ 5/4 – KO 19:45 BST

We finish in Holland for the first leg of the Europa League Play-off final between Vitesse and Utrecht.

Edward Sturing’s side finished the regular Eredivisie season in sixth place but they breezed past ADO Den Haag in the semi-finals. They won 5-2 away from home before completing the job with a 2-1 success on this ground.

Their three most recent outings at this stadium were all victories – a 7-0 thumping of Sparta Rotterdam, a 5-0 demolition of Twente and the aforementioned 2-1 win over ADO Den Haag.

Their opponents this evening are Utrecht and they actually finished higher in the table as they ended the season in fifth – five points better off than Vitesse.

Their form at the end of the year wasn’t great though as they won just one of their final seven matches, and they only scraped through the semi-finals on away goals.

They lost the away leg 4-3 and they haven’t won on the road since February – playing six since and losing four of them.