ASTON VILLA are fighting for their lives at the foot of the table and head to Goodison to face an Everton side who appear to have given up on this season.
Dean Smith's men would have been doomed had they lost at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday and I thought the pressure would get to Villa in that game.
But they dug deep to grind out a 2-0 win, albeit helped by a woeful VAR decision that saw a Palace opener wrongly ruled out, and have winnable games in their last three fixtures.
A four-point deficit on Wolves and West Ham needs to be bridged but those sides face each other on Friday so a victory at Goodison would give Villa a chance of staying up.
They are facing Everton at a good time, with boss Carlo Ancelotti admitting his players had a terrible attitude in their 3-0 defeat by Wolves at Molineux on Sunday.
His outburst may get a reaction and Everton's home form is pretty impressive, going 11 games without defeat since Marco Silva was binned as boss. But Villa will still see this an excellent chance to boost their prospects of dodging the drop.
How the bookies view it
Despite their weekend win, Villa are still outsiders for this one at a best 43/15 with VBet. Everton are evens with most firms for a win while the draw is 13/5 with Unibet.
Four of Everton's last six home games have ended in stalemates and I cashed in by tipping the draw when Southampton came calling. This is a tough one to call but if pushed I'd back this one to end level too.
Recent head to head
Everton have held the upper hand in this fixture of late, losing just two of their last 12 games with Aston Villa. But one of those defeats did come earlier this season, with Smith's side winning 2-0 back last August (below).
The Toffees romped it 4-0 on Villa's last visit in 2015 and you have to go all the way back to 2008 for their last home defeat in this fixture.
Players to watch
Richarlison has been my go-to guy for Everton goals of late, delivering the last two times I flagged him up against Southampton and Leicester.
The Brazilian was subbed in the lost to Wolves but should start again here and is 29/20 with Unibet for anytime scorer.
Egyptian forward Trezeguet stepped up to the plate for Villa at the weekend as he netted both of their goals. His confidence will be high for this one so he looks overpriced at 9/2 with Betfred for another goal.
Anything else catch the eye?
Everton have scored just five goals in their last eight games while Villa's record over the same period is even worse, with only four strikes.
So I'd be surprised if there were a lot of goals here, especially with so much at stake for Smith's side. Under 2.5 goals pays evens with Betfred while the odds increase to 11/4 with the same firm for under 1.5 strikes.
Another decent option is betting against both teams to score and that's a best 23/20 with BetVictor.
This English Premier League match between Everton and Aston Villa will be played on Jul 16, 2020 and kick off at 18:00. Check below for our tipsters best Everton vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
