Will the Saints extend their winning streak at Villa Park?
The atmosphere at Southampton Football Club could hardly be better these days and weeks. From a purely sporting point of view, at least. However, it is a small drop of bitterness that coach Ralph Hasenhüttl is already openly talking about not extending his contract, which expires in 2024, and instead wanting to end his own career. What counts, however, is the present.
In this one, the Saints host Birmingham next weekend. Despite going five unbeaten Premier League games in a row recently, the visitors are only considered outsiders at Villa Park.
At first glance, this is a bold assessment, because in addition to the top form of the Saints, which has already been hinted at, it should also give food for thought that the players from the south coast of England have enjoyed playing against the Villans in the recent past. The heavier workload during the week could therefore play into the home side’s favour. On balance, however, a prediction of a three-goal win between Aston Villa and Southampton is by no means out of the question.
Aston Villa – Statistics & current form
For Aston Villa, the still young calendar year 2022 has not gone as desired so far. The seven-time English champions actually wanted to build on their promising start under new coach Steven Gerrard, under whom they won four of their first six league games. The reality, however, is different.
In the past nine matches in the Premier League and the FA Cup, only two meagre victories have been achieved. One of those came last weekend, when a three-game winless streak was ended with a 2-0 away win at Brighton.
Aston Villa struggling at home recently
Aston Villa have been struggling at home since 05 December. Since then, they have only managed two points from four home games. All in all, they are only 13th in the home table, which also serves as an argument for not betting on a home win between Aston Villa and Southampton.
The fact that the Reds legend is no longer a force at home is clear from the statistic that Gerrard has conceded exactly as many defeats in the last six home games with Villa as he has in the previous 60 home games in his entire career as head coach.
Further complicating matters for the weekend is the fact that the Birmingham club have failed to win any of their last six league matches against their upcoming opponents. In fact, the last three home games against the Saints have all been lost – with eleven goals conceded in total. There is therefore simply a lack of veritable reasons to play the lower odds on the hosts.
Predicted Aston Villa line-up:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Buendia, Watkins, Coutinho
Last matches played by Aston Villa:
Premier League
02/26 2022 – Brighton 0 – 2 Aston Villa
02/19 2022 – Aston Villa 0 – 1 Watford
02/13 2022 – Newcastle United 1 – 0 Aston Villa
02/09 2022 – Aston Villa 3 – 3 Leeds
Club Friendlies
02/05 2022 – Aston Villa 3 – 1 Molde
Southampton – Statistics & current form
Southampton FC have definitely been one of the positive surprises in England’s top flight in recent weeks. The Saints have played seven league games in the Premier League so far after the turn of the year and have only suffered one defeat – 1:3 at Wolves.
In retrospect, the last five matches have resulted in eleven points, despite the fact that Hasenhüttl’s team had to play against renowned clubs such as Manchester City (1:1), Manchester United (1:1) and Tottenham (3:2). The highlight of the team’s constantly improving form was the 3:1 victory over West Ham United in the FA Cup last week. The team is in absolutely brilliant form, brimming with self-confidence and, given their ninth-place position in the table, can approach the upcoming tasks without any worries or pressure.
The Saints offense is on fire
It’s not just the pleasing results, but also the way the Saints are playing football at the moment that is causing quite a stir. In the last ten Premier League games, for example, they have always scored at least one goal. In six of the most recent ten encounters at league level, the southerners have even scored twice or more.
If you want to use this statistic as an opportunity to pick up promising odds on the Aston Villa vs. Southampton clash, you can bet on Ward-Prowse and Co scoring two or more goals once again.
Speaking of James Ward-Prowse: The international has been involved in five goals alone in his past six meetings with Aston Villa. Together with the in-form Che Adams, who has also been responsible for four goals in his last four Premier League games, we think there is a lot to be said for the Saints continuing their trend and scoring at Villa Park.
Predicted Southampton line-up:
Forster; Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; S. Armstrong, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi; Broja, Adams
Last matches played by Southampton:
FA Cup
03/02 2022 – Southampton 3 – 1 West Ham
Premier League
02/25 2022 – Southampton 2 – 0 Norwich
02/19 2022 – Southampton 2 – 0 Everton
02/12 2022 – Manchester United 1 – 1 Southampton
02/09 2022 – Tottenham 2 – 3 Southampton
Aston Villa – Southampton Direct Comparison / H2H Record
The first leg between the two teams this season in the matchday eleven tie was decided in the third minute. Southampton’s Adam Armstrong gave them the early lead, which lasted until the final whistle.
It was also the sixth Saints win in the past eight direct duels (one draw, one defeat). At Villa Park, the southerners are now unbeaten in six encounters, as mentioned above. Southampton have won their three most recent visits to Birmingham, scoring a whopping eleven goals in the process!
Aston Villa – Southampton Tip
Southampton have left Aston Villa out in the rankings in recent weeks. While the Birmingham club have collected just eight points from their last eight Premier League games, the Saints have picked up three points from their last five matches alone.
Coach Hasenhüttl’s side are in good form, brimming with confidence after last week’s 3-1 win in the FA Cup, and have really taken to the Villans as opponents in the recent past. Six of their last eight head-to-head meetings have gone to the Saints, who have also won three in a row at Villa Park.
With this in mind, it comes as a bit of a surprise that lower home win betting odds are being offered between Aston Villa and Southampton. In our eyes, the value is on the side of the visitors, who are currently in great form offensively and will pose major problems for Gerrard’s unsettled team, which has not won any of its last four home games.
In order to keep the risk within limits in the end, we play the tip on the DNB 2 before the match Aston Villa vs Southampton. In the event of a draw, our stake of five units will be refunded. An alternative betting option refers to the aforementioned offensive strength of the Saints and aims for at least two goals in the course of the match for the away team. Short betting tips for the 28th matchday in the Premier League, among others also for the Manchester derby, can be found on our page.
