England Premier League
Saturday 22nd February 2020
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: St Mary's Stadium
Match Preview:
Southampton staged a remarkable recovery from the bottom three a couple of months ago and that burst of form may well just save the club. However recent form has gone downhill with the Saints losing 3 of their last four matches.
A defeat against Liverpool can happen but they should have been getting something from Burnley, the team they lost against last weekend. All of this means that the Saints are not out of the woods yet even if they have 31 points. What is interesting about the club is that they have the poorest home record in the league winning just 3 games all season and earning 11 points from a possible 36. They have the rare distinction that the clubs away form is much better. They have also lost their last two home games.
Aston Villa were involved in a very exciting game against Tottenham last weekend that ended in a 3-2 loss, but they gave a lot in that game and it was a spectacle that showed just how good Jack Grealish can be. Still as good as the game was Villa lost and they are in 17th place and just one point above the bottom three.
Form is poor with just 4 points earned from their last 15 and back to back defeats coming into this game. The club have the 2nd poorest away record in the league and have lost 9 games already this season on the road. They are conceding on average 2 goals a game also.
Team News:
Southampton: Sofiane Boufal has a heel injury and looks set to be ruled out of this game. Nathan Redmond has a muscle injury and will miss at least the next month. Kyle- Walker Peters is out with a calf injury.
Aston Villa: Whilst Villa have a mounting injury list they have no fresh injuries coming into this game.
Southampton vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
It’s been 7 games since Aston Villa beat Southampton going back to 2013 when they won 3-2.
The last time the teams met here was in 2015 when they drew 1-1.
The last 6 meetings has seen both teams to score.
Southampton vs Aston Villa Prediction:
Southampton are a decent team who find it hard to win games at home and this encounter really depends on what Aston Villa team show up. They were really good against Tottenham, and maybe conceded goals in the end because of some naivety in defence but also Heung-Min Son is a quality calibre of striker. If Villa can take something from the Spurs game and tighten up in defence then they can win this game. Surely the motivation is with Dean Smith’s side too. They need to escape the bottom three, being 17th by a point is being right in the relegation mix, and the team in 18th West Ham have to face Liverpool away, so this is a great chance to put some distance between them. The Saints are a good team on their day though but it’s hard to trust a side who have been so poor at home. In fact it's hard to trust either side in this encounter, which is why goals are the order of the day. We feel both teams will get on the scoresheet, and there could be a good number of goals in the game.
Southampton vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Both teams to score (Yes) at 1.63
Total goals (Over 2.5) at 1.58
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