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Aston Villa will wind up their tour of the United States with a friendly against the MLS heavyweights Nashville on Saturday. Villa picked up their first pre-season win over St. Louis on Wednesday, thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkin,s while Nashville fell to San Diego 1-0 in MLS action last weekend.
Villa had suffered back-to-back losses in their first two pre-season friendlies against Walsall and Hansa Rostock. They subsequently snapped that winless streak against Bundesliga giants Eintracht Frankfurt, holding them to a 2-2 draw.
As such, the midweek win over St. Louis was no less than a heartening outcome for Emery's men and they will look for a repeat of the same when they head to Geodis Park this Saturday.
After that, Villa will square off against Roma, Marseille and Villarreal before kickstarting their Premier League season against Newcastle United at Villa Park on August 16.
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Meanwhile, Nashville have been resolutely climbing up the MLS Eastern Conference standings of late. After a topsy-turvy start to the campaign, they have managed to steady the ship and have been beaten just twice in their last 16 MLS outings, one of which came in their latest match against San Diego.
They are third in the table and have been quite formidable at home, shipping in just eight goals in a dozen matches played at Geodis Park this season. Since they are way more match-fit than their Premier League opponents, Nashville have every chance to cause an upset here.
Nashville vs Aston Villa Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Aston Villa have picked up just one win in four pre-season matches so far.
- Nashville have the joint-best home record across both the MLS Eastern and Western Conferences.
- Nashville have tasted defeat just twice in their last 19 matches across all competitions.
- Villa finished sixth in the Premier League last season and failed to qualify for the Champions League after suffering a loss to Manchester United on the last day of the campaign.
Nashville vs Aston Villa Prediction
Villa will find it hard to break down a resolute Nashville defence, which has been especially formidable at home. Nashville will fancy a win here, but for Villa, this match is about getting some valuable minutes for their players. Both sides are likely to cancel each other out here.
Prediction: Nashville 1-1 Aston Villa
Nashville vs Aston Villa Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Game to have under 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
