Will Southampton oust Gerrard from the manager’s chair?
After the short break last weekend due to the Queen’s passing, the English Premier League resumes play this weekend. Seven of the ten matches can be played, three matches have to be cancelled again due to insufficient capacity on the part of the executive. The matchday opens on Friday evening with two games, including the clash between Aston Villa and Southampton.
Two teams whose goal is a single-digit place in the table, but neither head coach Steven Gerrard’s nor Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team have been able to prove that so far this season. Both coaches have been mentioned in the English media as candidates for sacking, but have managed to stay in charge so far. The bookmakers are offering surprisingly low odds on a home win between Aston Villa and Southampton. The Villians, after all, have won just one of their last ten league games
The visitors from Southampton have alternated wins and defeats recently. According to the law of the series, a win at Villa Park on Friday night would be the logical consequence. The match kicks off at 9 p.m.
Aston Villa – Statistics & current form
Placing 14th in the table last season was by no means up to Aston Villa’s standards. The club from Birmingham has at least a single-digit finish in its sights, but some fans are also flirting with a return to Europe. 70 million euros were spent in the summer to strengthen the squad. But of all things, the king transfer, defender Diego Carlos, will not be available in the coming months after tearing his Achilles tendon.
One win in ten PL games
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard must finally deliver, because he has gradually used up his credit with fans and officials. More and more often you can read that the chair is wobbling. Not necessarily surprising, considering the recent results. The Villians have won only one of their last ten league games. That success came at home against Everton Football Club on matchday three. In their last four games they have lost three and drawn one. The draw in the last league game was definitely a success, however, as it came against champions Manchester City.
The coming weeks will now be decisive, as points are expected in games against Southampton, Leeds United and promoted Nottingham Forrest. For positive results, it would be important to finally be able to stabilise the defence. The Villians have conceded at least one goal in each of their last eleven league games. In attack, hopes rest on Southampton specialist Philippe Coutinho (seven points against the Saints, his personal best). From this, the possible prediction between Aston Villa and Southampton is for goals from both teams.
Predicted line-up of Aston Villa:
Martinez – Digne, Mings, Konsa, Cash – Douglas Luiz, Kamara, McGinn – Coutinho, Watkins, Bailey
Last matches played by Aston Villa:
Premier League
03/09/2022 – Aston Villa 1 – 1 Manchester City
01/09/2022 – Arsenal FC 2 – 1 Aston Villa
28/08/2022 – Aston Villa 0 – 1 West Ham
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Bolton 1 – 4 Aston Villa
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Crystal Palace 3 – 1 Aston Villa
Southampton – Statistics & current form
For almost four years now, Austrian Ralph Hasenhüttl has been head coach at Southampton. In that time, he has already experienced some difficult phases, but loyalty has always been maintained. This consistency has proven itself time and time again, which made the reports at the beginning of the season all the more surprising when his future was considered to be in jeopardy after the first matchday.
Things have calmed down in recent weeks, as the team has impressively demonstrated that it continues to stand behind the coach. There was no sign of a broken relationship, as the media predicted. There were plenty of opportunities to let themselves down and work against the coach. Southampton, after all, have repeatedly fallen behind in recent weeks. In each of the last five league games, Southampton conceded the first goal. Against Leicester as well as Chelsea, however, they managed a comeback victory (both 2:1).
No nil this season
In addition to conceding five goals to 0-1 in the last few games, there was still a heavy 1:4 defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs on the first matchday despite a lead. This means that new Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has been involved in every league game so far. With the Villians having conceded at least one goal in eleven league games, betting on both teams to score between Aston Villa and Southampton is quite obvious. Only Leicester City have not yet scored a goal in the 2022/23 PL season.
The hopes of scoring are pinned on attacker Che Adams. The 26-year-old Scot has been Southampton’s “away specialist” this season. In 2022/23, Hasenhüttl’s side have scored six away goals (three in the league, three in the League Cup), four of which have come from Che Adams.
Predicted line-up of Southampton:
Bazunu – Perraud, Salisu, Bella-Kotchap, Walker-Peters – Elyounoussi, Diallo, Ward-Prowse – Armstrong, Adams, Aribo
Last matches played by Southampton:
Premier League
03/09/2022 – Wolverhampton 1 – 0 Southampton
31/08/2022 – Southampton 2 – 1 Chelsea FC
27/08/2022 – Southampton 0 – 1 Manchester United
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Cambridge U 0 – 3 Southampton
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Leicester 1 – 2 Southampton
Aston Villa – Southampton Direct comparison / H2H record
After winning only one of eleven Premier League games against Southampton (three draws, seven defeats), the team from Birmingham celebrated two victories in the last three league games. A clear affair was the last game at Villa Park, which the home side won with a commanding 4:0. This was also the first home win for Aston Villa after six games without a win.
Aston Villa – Southampton Tip
Two teams face each other at Villa Park that have some parallels. Both teams have so far fallen short of expectations, which is due in particular to major problems in defence. Neither the home side nor the visitors have played a game without conceding a goal. The odds on a high-scoring game between Aston Villa and Southampton are therefore very interesting. Both the over 2.5 and goals from both teams are possible bets.
In the top tips between Aston Villa and Southampton, however, you can also find the tips on the away win and the Draw No Bet 2 respectively. Although Southampton went down at Villa Park last time out, they had a clear advantage in the direct comparison. In addition, the teams are on a similar level in terms of quality, so the value is correspondingly high with odds of up to 2.62 on the DNB2 and 3.55 on the away win. With the protection of the cashback in case of a draw, five units are recommended for the main bet DNB2.
