Will the Saints worsen the Villans’ crisis?
Before club football heads into its final international break of 2021, the English Premier League still has its eleventh matchday on the agenda. It opens on Friday evening with a clash of opposites. At St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton welcome Aston Villa.
The term “duel of opposites” does not seem to be comprehensible when looking at the current Premier League table, after all, it is also a meeting of table neighbours. Hasenhüttl’s team is in 14th place, while the visitors from Birmingham are right behind them in 15th. However, the current form curve of the two teams is completely contrasting.
After a disastrous start to the season, the hosts are on the up, while the Villans have recently suffered four defeats in a row. Accordingly, odds of just over 2.00 are offered for Southampton to win at home against Aston Villa.
Southampton – Statistics & current form
When a team goes winless in the first seven league games of a season and an international break is just around the corner, many officials would probably consider or even make a coaching change. Southampton may have gone seven straight without a full win, but Austrian head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl was not up for debate.
Seven points from three games
Even after the respective 9-0 defeats in the last two seasons, the trust of the club’s management in Hasenhüttl was admirable and once again that appreciation seems to be paying off. In recent weeks, the turnaround has been successful and after the premiere win against Leeds United, Southampton also scored against Burnley (2:2) and last weekend against promoted Watford (1:0).
This makes a total of seven points from three league games, after Southampton previously needed ten Premier League games to also pick up seven points. The rising form curve is obvious and the role as favourites is therefore absolutely understandable.
Little spectacle in the home games
In addition to a possible bet on a home win, Southampton can also be bet on an under 2.5 this season. Between Southampton and Aston Villa, odds of just under 2.00 are surprisingly offered for this prediction.
With an average of 2.10 goals per league game, the Saints, together with Wolves, have the lowest value of all 20 PL teams. In the home games, there was an average of only 1.60 goals per game, with the only high-scoring exception being the last home game against Burnley (2:2).
Predicted Southampton line-up:
McCarthy – Walker-Peters, Salisu, Bednarek, Livramento – Redmond, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi – Armstrong, Adams
Last matches played by Southampton:
Premier League
10/30 2021 – Watford 0 – 1 Southampton
Carabao Cup
10/26 2021 – Chelsea London (4)1 – 1(3) Southampton
Premier League
10/23 2021 – Southampton 2 – 2 Burnley
10/16 2021 – Southampton 1 – 0 Leeds
10/02 2021 – Chelsea London 3 – 1 Southampton
Aston Villa – Statistics & current form
The Villans initially coped well with the multi-million pound departure of Jack Grealish and presented themselves in strong form at the start of the season. After six matchdays, Smith’s side were still in eighth position and within striking distance of the international starting places. The away win at Old Trafford against Manchester United, however, was to be the last feeling of success.
Four defeats in a row
Aston Villa have scored in each of their last four league games, but the Villans have failed to pick up a point. That makes Smith’s side only the fourth team in PL history to lose four in a row and still score on each occasion. Aston Villa would be sure of a place in the history books on Friday if this feat is repeated a fifth time. No team has ever done this before.
The defence in particular has been extremely vulnerable in recent weeks. The defence around the Argentine international goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez conceded no less than twelve goals in these four defeats. This means that Aston Villa now have the third weakest defence in the league (19 goals conceded) – only Newcastle and Norwich have conceded more.
A sad record is also held by striker Ollie Watkins. Watkins has scored in six games since the start of last season, which his team still lost. No other player has personally been able to celebrate a success more often, but in the end stood there empty-handed. In his two goals of the 2021/22 season, the Villans ultimately conceded defeat.
Disastrous Friday score
After the recent failures, there is a desperate search for a sense of achievement. Head coach Dean Smith will have to do without defender Ezri Konsa, who was sent off in the 4-1 defeat to West Ham, for the visit to St Mary’s Stadium. Otherwise, at least the entire staff is available.
It is not only the recent results that are catastrophic, but also the “Friday statistics” in the highest division. Aston Villa have not been able to win any of the last 13 first division games on Friday evenings, and for the last success you have to look back to 1950 (!). Since a 4-1 win over Charlton Athletic, there have only been three draws and ten defeats. This Friday, Southampton v Aston Villa odds are offered at 3.60 for the negative run to end.
Predicted line-up of Aston Villa:
Martinez – Targett, Hause, Mings, Cash – Nakamba – Bailey, Ramsey, McGinn, Buendia – Ings
Last matches played by Aston Villa:
Premier League
10/31 2021 – Aston Villa 1 – 4 West Ham
10/22 2021 – Arsenal London 3 – 1 Aston Villa
10/16 2021 – Aston Villa 2 – 3 Wolverhampton
10/03 2021 – Tottenham 2 – 1 Aston Villa
09/25 2021 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Aston Villa
Southampton – Aston Villa Direct Comparison / H2H Record
The last meeting took place in January, which Aston Villa won at St. Mary’s Stadium. Should that feat be repeated, the club would win two away games in a row against the Saints for the first time since 1998.
The win at the start of the year could well be described as a surprise, as Southampton had previously been something of a fearsome opponent for Aston Villa, who had previously failed to win eight in a row (five wins for Southampton, three draws).
Southampton – Aston Villa Tip
Two neighbours in the table whose emotional situations are completely different. The hosts are on the rise, while the visitors are in free fall. In this respect, a prediction in the direction of the home side seems absolutely obvious for Southampton against Aston Villa.
Aston Villa undoubtedly have the quality to beat Southampton, but in light of recent developments, such a bet may be inadvisable. Rather, the insecurity is clearly noticeable and especially the defence sometimes makes hair-raising mistakes.
Due to this great uncertainty and the fact that Aston Villa 2021/22 have not yet scored an away goal in the first half, but have already conceded six goals, the forecast on HT/FT 1/1 is recommended with a low stake of three units between Southampton and Aston Villa.
