Aston Villa will be bidding to build on their draw with Manchester City

Post Views: 344

Aston Villa will be bidding to build on their draw with Manchester City last time out when they welcome Southampton to Villa Park in the Premier League on Friday evening. Steven Gerrard’s side held the champions in their last league fixture on September 3, while Southampton will enter this contest off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on the same day.

The Premier League (PL) returns after last weekend’s fixtures were postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, meaning Aston Villa have had to wait to follow up holding reigning PL champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last time out. That was a crucial result after three consecutive league defeats, relieving some pressure from manager Steven Gerrard and a win here would see them climb away from the relegation zone.

Villa haven’t won at home since PL matchday two (D1, L1), and with no clean sheet in six home league fixtures (W1, D3, L2), their defence has been causing Gerrard and his management team plenty of headaches. And although they won this home H2H 4-0 last term, that was their first home victory against Southampton in seven attempts (D2, L4) so they might be on the backfoot again.

But can Southampton, who registered a single shot on target against Wolverhampton Wanderers (L 1-0), realistically threaten that suspect Villa defence? “That we don’t score today is normally not possible,” was manager Ralph Hasenhüttl’s frustrated reaction to defeat at Wolves, a loss which means they’re still to repeat the same result in consecutive league games this term (W2, D1, L3).

They’ve been consistent on the road – consistently underwhelming, that is – recording a single victory across their last ten PL away games (D3, L6). Perhaps an early start to the action could suit Southampton though, as they’re unbeaten in five PL matches held on a Friday (W4, D1), including a 3-0 win over Norwich City the last time they featured in one as the away side.

Date: 16/09/2022
Time: 22:00
Venue: Villa Park (Birmingham)
Pick for this match:
“1” – @ 2.08 ( BETWAY )