With that being said, Viking benefit massively from their artificial home surface, which they won’t have midweek. The Norwegian side were comprehensively beaten in round one by Stuttgart. The German side recorded 17 shots and four big chances worth 2.18 xG, while the visitors managed just nine shots worth 0.63 xG in return. 

Viking are battling at near the summit of the Norway Eliteserien, but there is a significant gulf in quality between that level of football and the Premier League, and Aston Villa just seem to be finding their feet. They come into this match having beaten Newcastle 1-0 at St James’ Park at the weekend, after winning 6-0 against Fenerbahce in the Champions League.

Viking have shown real courage in their opening two Champions League fixtures this season, which have produced a total of ten goals. That includes a six-goal thriller against Bayern last time out, with the goals shared three apiece. The Norwegian side have shown that they can threaten stronger sides, and they will be confident of at least finding the back of the net. 

However, their main challenge will be keeping Villa at bay. Unai Emery’s men ran riot in their last European outing against Fenerbahce. The hosts racked up 20 shots worth 3.11 xG - Ederson finished the game with five saves in addition to conceding six goals, which shows just how effective Villa were going forward.

It was fitting that Zlatko Tripic was the one who scored Viking’s first Champions League goal - the 33-year-old has spent eight seasons at the club. He had three shots in that round one matchup against Stuttgart, of which one hit the target. He also played an important role in Viking’s draw with Bayern, providing two assists against the German heavyweights. 

Tripic is always involved in the final third, and he will have to play a massive role at Villa Park if his side are to get anything out of it. He is a natural goalscorer, recording double-digit goal counts in his last three full domestic seasons as a Viking player. He will be their primary threat in the final third.

In addition to his output in the final third, Tripic is also averaging 2.54 fouls drawn per 90. He is the main outlet for Viking on that left wing, and Matty Cash is likely to have the tough task of trying to keep him quiet. Tripic usually sees plenty of the ball, which will bring Cash into the game often. 

The Polish international has recently returned from injury, and he has committed multiple infringements in all three starts since then. That includes three fouls against Newcastle last time out. Cash is much more comfortable going forward than he is at defending one-on-one, which bodes well for this selection.

Erik Botheim is another player to target for fouls midweek. The Viking striker is averaging 2.68 fouls per 90 across all competition in the last ten matches for his side, which is the highest figure in the squad. That includes three fouls against Fredrikstad at the weekend, which was enough to earn him a yellow card. 

The striker likes to be aggressive in his duels, and intense in his press up front. He has committed at least one foul in each of his last eleven successive appearances, despite three of those being off the bench. That includes one foul in round one of the Champions League, despite only playing for the final 28 minutes.

Johan Manzambi scored the winning goal in Villa’s 1-0 victory at Newcastle, before being replaced after 70 minutes with a knock. The 20-year-old has downplayed the severity of his injury though, so there is a strong likelihood that he will be fit and available to start midweek. 

If there is even a chance he is ready, Unai Emery is likely to deploy Manzambi in his regular advanced midfield position. Since completing his move from Freiburg, Manzambi has hit the ground running for the Premier League side, scoring in three of his four starts. He is averaging 4.3 shots per 90 across all competitions for Villa, which shows just how involved he has been in the final third, and this is a favourable matchup for him against Viking.

Nicolas Jackson is another summer signing who has made a real difference at Villa Park. The former Chelsea man scored twice during Villa’s 6-0 victory over Fenerbahce in their last European outing. He has now scored five goals in eight starts for his new club.

Jackson has spoken highly of Unai Emery, as the two were both at Villarreal together, and the Spanish manager really knows how to get the most out of Jackson. The striker is playing with confidence again, and he looks a constant danger in the final third. After Ollie Watkins left Villa Park, there were concerns over where goals would come from, but Jackson has filled that void and he will hope to maintain his solid form against Viking here.

Joe Bell is the defensive midfielder for Viking, and this upcoming clash at Villa Park could be one of the toughest of his career. The New Zealand international was carded against Fredrikstad at the weekend, making it five bookings in his last eleven appearances across all competitions.

He is averaging 1.88 fouls per 90 in that time, which shows how willing he is to jump into tackles, and Bell will have plenty to do on Wednesday night. 

The 27-year-old had a difficult night on his Champions League debut, committing two fouls against Stuttgart before being replaced after 62 minutes. He also recorded three tackles in that match.

On the opposite side, Boubacar Kamara is one to keep an eye on defensively. He committed four fouls against Newcastle last time out, taking his averaging to 1.72 fouls per 90 across all competitions for Villa this season. In his ten appearances this season, Kamara has registered a total of 16 infringements, but he has so far been fortunate to escape a booking. 

Last season, Kamara made 18 Premier League appearances, and he was carded in five of those. He can be guilty of committing cynical fouls, and they could come into play against a side like Viking. The Norwegian side drew three yellows and a red from Bayern Munich last week, so they can be a frustrating side to face

In addition to his output in the final third, Tripic is also averaging 2.54 fouls drawn per 90. He is the main outlet for Viking on that left wing, and Matty Cash is likely to have the tough task of trying to keep him quiet. Tripic usually sees plenty of the ball, which will bring Cash into the game often. 

The Polish international has recently returned from injury, and he has committed multiple infringements in all three starts since then. That includes three fouls against Newcastle last time out. Cash is much more comfortable going forward than he is at defending one-on-one, which bodes well for this selection.

Erik Botheim is another player to target for fouls midweek. The Viking striker is averaging 2.68 fouls per 90 across all competition in the last ten matches for his side, which is the highest figure in the squad. That includes three fouls against Fredrikstad at the weekend, which was enough to earn him a yellow card. 

The striker likes to be aggressive in his duels, and intense in his press up front. He has committed at least one foul in each of his last eleven successive appearances, despite three of those being off the bench. That includes one foul in round one of the Champions League, despite only playing for the final 28 minutes.

Lisandro Martinez was withdrawn at half-time against Leeds at the weekend with a suspected injury, making him a doubt midweek. With Leny Yoro also suspended after being sent off against Atletico Madrid, Man United are looking a bit short at centre back. Ayden Heaven is likely to start, and he will have the tough task of trying to contain the Como front line. 

The centre back has committed five fouls in his three starts this season, including two infringements against Atletico Madrid last week. Heaven hasn’t featured regularly under Michael Carrick, but this is an opportunity for him to try and lock down a starting role. He will find duels against Anastasios Douvikas who is averaging 2.58 fouls drawn per 90 this season.

Ezri Konsa has had to fill in for William Saliba this season with the Frenchman picking up an injury at the start of the campaign. I was interested to see how this played out, with Saliba being such a crucial part of Arsenal’s defensive set up over the last few years - but Konsa has slotted in really well.

One of his best attributes is winning fouls. He’s a really intelligent player, and knows how to manage opposition strikers really well. He’s won 10 fouls across his five starts in the Premier League this season (1.95 per 90), a record that ranks Konsa within the 94th percentile for foul won when compared to other Premier League centre backs.

Furthermore, Konsa was fouled twice in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Napoli on Matchday 1 of the Champions League final where he was in a real scrap with Rasmus Hojlund. Kane won’t be as clumsy as the Napoli forward, but he’s certainly capable of falling foul to Konsa’s intelligent movement. 

Viking have shown real courage in their opening two Champions League fixtures this season, which have produced a total of ten goals. That includes a six-goal thriller against Bayern last time out, with the goals shared three apiece. The Norwegian side have shown that they can threaten stronger sides, and they will be confident of at least finding the back of the net. 

However, their main challenge will be keeping Villa at bay. Unai Emery’s men ran riot in their last European outing against Fenerbahce. The hosts racked up 20 shots worth 3.11 xG - Ederson finished the game with five saves in addition to conceding six goals, which shows just how effective Villa were going forward.

This selection has landed in all but one of Bayern Munich’s matches this season, with the exception of a 0-0 draw on the road against Schalke - where they generated an xG of 1.94 and had 52 touches in the opposition box without scoring.

Vincent Kompany’s side are also posting some really impressive underlying numbers, generating an xG of 20.9 in the Bundesliga across just six matches which has translated to 22 goals (3.66 per game). The next highest tally in the Bundesliga, is an xG of 14.0. 

Furthermore, this angle covers Bayern if they have a scenario like they did against Viking last time out in the Champions League where Bayern scored three goals but still failed to come away with all three points. 

The obvious concern here is Arsenal’s defensive record, but I’m willing to take that on at a ground where Bayern have won all four of their matches across the Bundesliga and the Champions League this term by an aggregate scoreline of 23-2. 

Betis have seen BTTS in both of their Champions League matches, with both games ending in Manuel Pellegrini’s side coming away 3-2 winners over Lille and Porto.

Their win over Porto last time out saw Betis register an xG of 1.68 from 17 shots. They’ve seen BTTS in each of their last four matches, including seeing seven goals in a 5-2 defeat to Barcelona over the weekend - where they still managed to record an xG of 1.24.

Feyenoord have also seen BTTS in both of their Champions League matches this season, losing 5-1 to Barcelona in their opening game before securing their first three points of the competition against Como with a 3-2 victory.

Feyenoord followed that 3-2 win with a seven goal thriller against Telstar over the weekend, coming out on the right side of the result in a game where they registered an xG of 3.81.

Real Madrid put on a classy performance over the weekend as they beat Sevilla 4-1 at home, which was notable for a superb goal from Kylian Mbappe who scored twice in the contest.

Madrid have had some small issues at the start of this campaign, but that’s mainly in comparison to Barcelona - who are the best team in Europe right now. 

They’ve won each of their last three matches ahead of this clash, and should have too much quality for a Leipzig that lost 6-1 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena over the weekend. 

That result shows that while Leipzig are an entertaining and promising side, they still struggle against the elite teams on the continent and we should see that play out again here.