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Aston Villa go head-to-head with Walsall at the Bescot Stadium on Saturday in their first friendly outing ahead of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.
The Premier League side have six friendlies lined up before their league curtain-raiser against Newcastle United on August 12 and will look to ramp up their preparations.
Walsall endured another forgettable campaign in League Two as they picked up 55 points from 46 matches to finish 16th in the table.
The Saddlers have now ended the season in the bottom half of the fourth division table in three successive seasons since their 12th-placed finish in the 2019-20 campaign.
Walsall kicked off their pre-season friendlies on Tuesday when they picked up an emphatic 4-1 victory over amateur side Leamington.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa secured their return to Europe for the first time in 13 years last season as they finished seventh in the Premier League table.
Unai Emery’s side picked up a crucial 2-1 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion in the season finale on May 28 to finish one point above Tottenham and book their spot in the Conference League.
Since then, Aston Villa have reinforced their squad, bringing in former Leicester City man Youri Tielemans and Spanish defender Pau Torres.
Walsall vs Aston Villa Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Aston Villa have been imperious in the history of this fixture, having won nine of the last 12 meetings between the sides since July 2013.
- Walsall have failed to taste victory against Unai Emery’s side in that time, while the spoils have been shared on three occasions.
- Following Tuesday’s victory over Leamington, the Saddlers have now picked up successive wins for the first time since January.
- Aston Villa are without a win in their last four away matches, claiming two wins and two draws since April’s 2-1 victory at Leicester City.
Walsall vs Aston Villa Prediction
While the full-time result remains somewhat unimportant at this stage of pre-season, we expect Aston Villa to put on a worthy display.
Emery’s side boast the firepower needed to get the job done and we fancy them picking up a comfortable win.
Prediction: Walsall 0-2 Aston Villa
Walsall vs Aston Villa Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Aston Villa
Tip 2: First to score - Aston Villa (The Villans have opened the scoring in five of their last six games against Walsall)
Tip 3: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have also been three or more goals scored in four of their five meetings)
