BOTH Aston Villa and Everton will be bidding to bounce back from opening day defeats in the Premier League when the pair lock horns at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
Excitement and expectations were high around Villa Park ahead of the new campaign after a superb finish to last season and some eye-catching summer signings.
However, the Villians were handed quite the reality check when being dismantled 5-1 by Newcastle in their maiden match of the season at St James' Park last Saturday,
Villa boss Unai Emery is now tasked with lifting the spirits of his side ahead of a visit from Everton this weekend.
After narrowly avoiding relegation of the final day of last season, Sean Dyche will be hoping his side can avoid another battle to beat the drop in what will be his first full season in charge of the Toffees.
However, there may well have been a feeling of deja-vu for the Everton faithful when watching their side slump to a 1-0 loss to Fulham last Saturday, a performance that bared all of the hallmarks of last season's struggles.
Outright Betting
Aston Villa, who are targeting a fifth successive Premier League win over Everton, go into their opening home match of the season as odds-on 8/13 (William Hill) favourites.
Everton triumphed in just two of their 19 top-flight road trips last term and the bookies' odds suggest those away day blues will continue here, with the visitors the 9/2 (William Hill) underdogs while the draw is an unfancied 16/5 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
Aston Villa are too short to side with at the above-mentioned price but we can get some 17/20 (Bet 365) on them to overcome a -0.75 hurdle on the Asian Handicap and that looks like a worthy boost in price.
This selection would deliver a full pay-out if the home team triumph by two goals or more, with a half-stakes winner banked if Villa secure a victory by a one-goal margin.
Unai Emery will be demanding a response from his players after their heavy defeat at Newcastle on the opening weekend and a visit from Everton may just be what they need to get them up and running.
Only Manchester City have picked up more Premier League points than Aston Villa this calendar year, not to mention Emery ‘s men ended last season with seven top-flight home wins in succession.
That doesn't bode well for an Everton side that held one of the worst road records in the division last term, pocketing a meagre 15 points when playing away from their Goodison Park base.
It may be the start of a new season but it was the same old story for shot-shy Everton when losing to Fulham last weekend and it would be fair to say a tougher test lies ahead this weekend in the West Midlands.
With that in mind, coupled with Aston Villa's strong home form, I'm happy to back the hosts at 17/20 (Bet 365) with a -0.75 start on the Asian Handicap.
On a similar line of reasoning to the above, I'll also go with the 4/5 on offer with William Hill for Aston Villa to core a minimum of two goals on Sunday.
This bet would have paid in nine of Villa's 13 Premier League home games under Unai Emery's guidance and given their summer reinforcements they look a fair bet to repeat the trick against Toffees team that don't tend to travel well.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Everton will be played on Aug 20, 2023 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Everton prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
