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The Premier League returns to the fold with another round of fixtures this week as Southampton take on Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa outfit in an important clash at Villa Park on Friday.
Aston Villa vs Southampton Preview
Southampton are currently in 12th place in the Premier League standings and have been fairly inconsistent this season. The Saints slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous game and will need to take it up a notch this week.
Aston Villa are in 17th place in the league table at the moment and have struggled so far this year. The home side held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last week and will be confident ahead of this fixture.
Aston Villa vs Southampton Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Aston Villa have a slight edge over Southampton and have won 30 out of the 82 matches that have been played between the two teams, as opposed to Southampton's 29 victories.
- After a run of only one victory in 11 Premier League games against Southampton, Aston Villa have managed to win two of their last three league matches against the Saints.
- Southampton's six-game unbeaten run away from home against Aston Villa came to an end last season after they suffered a 4-0 defeat at Villa Park.
- Aston Villa have won only one of their last 10 Premier League matches and have conceded in each of their last 11 games in the competition.
- Southampton have won two of their last four games in the Premier League - more victories than they had managed in the 14 league games preceding this run.
- Southampton have conceded the first goal of the game in each of their last five matches in the Premier League but have suffered defeat in only two of these games.
Aston Villa vs Southampton Prediction
Aston Villa have impressive players in their ranks but have been surprisingly poor so far this season. The likes of Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho have flattered to deceive and will need to prove their mettle this week.
Southampton can pack a punch on their day and have stepped up to the plate in recent weeks. Both teams are evenly matched on paper and could play out a draw on Friday.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-2 Southampton
$1,000 Risk-Free Bet at FanDuel SB
Aston Villa vs Southampton Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Aston Villa to score first - Yes
Tip 4: Ollie Watkins to score - Yes
