Villa fans set to spend more on flights and hotels for European travels than any other UK club

Fresh research has revealed that Aston Villa will pay approximately £1,633 to watch their team play in Europe this season. 

The combined cost of the club’s trips to Bern, Bruges, Leipzig and Monaco is more than any other UK club competing in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League this season. The study carried out by football betting tips, predictions, and news site Footy Accumulators calculated the cost of flights and accommodation for the four away trips that fans of the 8 English and Scottish teams competing in Europe’s top two competitions will have to pay to watch their team abroad this season. 

Villa fans have been waiting four decades to watch their team in the Champions League, however, fans will have to cough up a combined £1,254 for flights to see their team play at each of the 4 away games, as well as an additional £379 for hotels. The club’s most expensive trip will be against Young Boys, which will set fans back £477 for the flight, and a further £80 for the hotel.

Fans can also expect to fork out £421 for the trip to face RB Leipzig, and £372 for the short journey to Brussels for their game against Club Brugge. The cheapest trip will be their final away game against Monaco, at a much more affordable £151 for return flights, although a two-night hotel stay in January is £132.

Here’s how the total travel costs ranked for those 8 UK clubs:

In second place is Rangers, competing in the Europa League, fans will fork out £1,346 to follow their team across the four games. They have expensive trips to Athens (£393), Copenhagen (£441) and Nice (£381), which have proven slightly tricky destinations to reach from Glasgow Airport.

However, Rangers fans’ costs are alleviated with an away trip to Manchester United, which typically costs £61 for an open return ticket via train from Glasgow, and £70 for the hotel. Manchester United are in third place and being in the Europa League doesn’t mean any extra savings for fans, who will have to pay £1,242 to follow the Red Devils in Europe.

Manchester United’s away trips include Bucharest, Istanbul, Pilsen, and Porto, with the most expensive being their away game against Viktoria Plzen in December, setting fans back £360. There isn’t too much price difference across their European away games, and the cheapest is a £264 round trip plus hotel to Bucharest to face FCSB.

Scottish champions Celtic are in fourth place, and they will pay a similar amount of money to United fans, just £21 less at £1,221, although they play a step above in the Champions League. Celtic’s away trips include journeys to face Aston Villa and Atlanta, but the most expensive trip is to face Dinamo Zagreb as this will cost fans £408.

The cheapest away game is a visit to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund as return flights will cost as little as £132 and the hotel £77. Title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City are next up, in fifth and sixth, with Liverpool fans set to spend more on travel and accommodation at £1,188.

Their most expensive journey will be to Leipzig, costing £366. City fans will pay slightly less at £1,150 this is helped by them having return flights for the away game against PSG in January for the pretty sum of £53. The only two London clubs competing in Europe’s top two competitions this season, Arsenal and Tottenham, have the pleasure of the cheapest away trips.

Arsenal fans can expect to spend £1,061 to follow their team to every Champions League away game, although they can relax for the trip to Girona which will cost just £157 for flights and hotel. Spurs meanwhile will spend just £807 for their four away games, which is by far the cheapest.

The most expensive trip to watch Ange Postecoglu’s side will be to Hungary for their first away game against Ferencvaros (£248), but fans can expect much cheaper trips to both Istanbul (£134) and Glasgow (£190).