Premier League

Aston Villa vs Southampton prediction

A battle of two over-achievers at Villa Park on Sunday lunchtime when Aston Villa welcome Southampton to the West Midlands.

I am not entirely sure what to make of the Villans this campaign – thrashing Liverpool 7-2, beating Leicester City 1-0 and then losing 0-3 at home to Leeds United. Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley are proving to be a real combination in midfield though and Ollie Watkins has been a real upgrade up front.

Southampton have looked very good in their past four matches, keeping three clean sheets, including last weekend’s 2-0 win over former Premier League leaders Everton. Their 3-3 draw at Chelsea is the only points they’ve dropped since the first two games of the season.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are tactically sound and I think that will see them prevail in this game, whether it’s coming away with one point or all three, I don’t expect the Austrian to be out foxed by Dean Smith in the opposite dugout.

Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse are the two attacking stars for the Saints, but they have had some excellent defensive performances out of Jannik Vestergaard, Jan Bednarek and Oriol Romeu in recent weeks. The latter will have the task of shutting down Jack Grealish this weekend.

Bookmakers aren’t sure which way this match is going and that would be a fair assumption, but what I saw from these two teams last weekend, and what I’ve seen from Southampton in the past month, is that they are more than a matchup for a Villa side that narrowly avoided relegation last season and haven’t made too many changes in defence, aside from the goalkeeper. I think they come away from this game with at least a point.

Best bet: Lay Aston Villa at 2.52 with Betfair
Value bet: Back Southampton at 2.9 with Betfair