England Premier League
Saturday 18th December 2021
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Villa Park
Match Preview:
The Premier League schedule has been heavily depleted this weekend because of an outbreak of Covid-19 which has affected many teams so for Saturday, at present, we will only see two games.
Aston Villa have a familiar pattern coming into this game, winning one and losing one and rinse and repeat. But the club have looked very good since Steven Gerrard took over the club. Tricky opponents such as Leicester and Crystal Palace have been dealt with and last weekend, as expected, Norwich were beaten 2-0 away from home and the club are now in 10th place. Villa are only five points from a European place for next season and at the moment the appointment of Gerrard looks like a shrewd move from the board.
Gerrard has overseen three games at home and has two wins and one defeat but we should remember that loss was against Manchester City and it was a close game. To summarise Gerrard is ticking all of the boxes so far and the club are certainly on the right path with him.
Burnley’s game with Watford was called off in midweek due to the Covid-19 crisis so their last game was against West Ham in an encounter that ended 0-0. That would have been seen as a valuable point for Sean Dyche’s team even if they were at home as the Hammers have been impressive this season. Burnley have only lost one game from their past five but there are no wins in that time with four of their games ending in draws. In one sense it is good that the club are not losing every weekend but they are not tasting victory either and that can be a recipe for relegation. The clubs last win came at the end of October.
Currently Burnley are in 18th place but are just 2 points from safety, although they have the added pressure of Newcastle and Norwich who are behind them with only a points difference. Away form has been poor, and Burnley’s last trip ended in defeat against Newcastle- Newcastle’s only victory of the season so far and Burnley are yet to win on the road.
Team News:
Aston Villa: Leon Bailey is missing with his thigh injury and isn’t due back for another week at least. Bertrand Traore is out also but is nearing a return with his thigh injury and is being tipped to return for the Christmas period.
Burnley: It was hoped that Maxwell Cornet would be returning by now but it seems he will miss more games with his thigh injury. Ashley Barnes looks more as a long term injury now and he also has a thigh injury. Connor Roberts was ill but could be assessed to return, it is the same case for Dale Stephens.
Aston Villa vs Burnley Head to Head:
Last season this fixture ended 0-0.
Aston Villa has 1 victory over Burnley in the last six meetings and they have haven’t beaten Burnley when at home in 11 years, although the clubs have scantly met each other in that time.
3 of the last 4 meetings has seen both teams to score.
Chris Wood has enjoyed played Aston Villa and has scored 3 goals against them in the past four games.
Aston Villa vs Burnley Prediction:
Aston Villa are the favourites to win the game and are odds on and their price of 1.70 is not off putting so we will be backing the home win.
Overall Burnley have been poor but they have also been stubborn and they will set up here to get a point and try and hit Villa on the break. We should also take on both teams to score because as good as Villa have been they have conceding goals too, four in their last five to note. Plus this fixture has a good recent return for this market.
Ollie Watkins has been on good form for the home side and looks very happy to be playing and we will also back him to score in the game.
Aston Villa vs Burnley Betting Tips:
Aston Villa to beat Burnley at 1.70
Anytime goalscorer: Ollie Watkins at 2.50
Both teams to score at 1.80
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