Introduction
Aston Villa hosts Southampton at Villa Park this Saturday in an important Premier League match. Villa will be trying to continue the momentum of their midweek win, while Southampton try to bounce back from their heavy home defeat to Chelsea.
Match Preview
Aston Villa: Back to Winning Ways
Aston Villa ended their winless run with a commanding 3-1 victory over Brentford midweek, lifting them to 7th place in the Premier League. Key performances from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Matty Cash secured the much-needed win and extended Villa’s unbeaten home streak to six league games.
Under Unai Emery, Villa has been quite strong against promoted sides, going undefeated in 11 Premier League matches and winning five of six at home. The Villans have also kept clean sheets against Southampton in three of their last meetings and will look to extend this run.
Southampton: Suffering at the Bottom
As Southampton also stays stuck at the foot of the table with their season’s only league win over Everton, which was a closely guarded 1-0 outcome; defensively, they were found out again midweek as Chelsea thrashed them 5-1.
The Saints have the least number of goals scored and concede 30 goals to find themselves seven points from safety. With just one win in their past 14 away from St Mary’s, this week’s test at Villa Park will be a pretty arduous one. Following a growing pressure, particularly on manager Russell Martin, the coming fixtures with the Villans, Spurs and Liverpool could seal the Scot’s fate.
Team News
Aston Villa Updates
Rotations Expected: Given their Champions League match against Leipzig next Tuesday, Unai Emery might rotate his squad here. Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Jhon Duran, and Ian Maatsen will be the ones hoping for a starting spot.
Injuries: Amadou Onana may make a return to fitness while Jacob Ramsey remains out:.
Key Player: Ollie Watkins, with five goals in his last six home league games, is one strike away from matching Dwight Yorke’s club record of 37 goals at Villa Park.
Southampton News
Injuries and Suspensions: Jack Stephens is suspended, while Adam Lallana, Aaron Ramsdale, and Will Smallbone remain out.
Returning Players: Paul Onuachu, Jan Bednarek, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling, Flynn Downes, and Lesley Ugochukwu are all available after missing the Chelsea match.
Possible Changes: There will likely be a rearranged Southampton starting XI as returning players will give depth to a scrawny roster.
Predicted Line-ups
Aston Villa Starting XI:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins
Southampton Starting XI:
Lumley; Sugawara, Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Manning; Dibling, Aribo, Downes, Fernandes; Archer
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-0 Southampton
On form and with home advantage, the rejuvenated Villa are favorites for back-to-back league wins. With injury problems and a very poor defensive record, this should be another difficult outing for the Saints.
