Aston Villa will look to climb up into second spot in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as they travel to the Vitality Stadium to take on the entertaining Bournemouth.
Aston Villa suffered a second consecutive home defeat in the Premier League last Sunday, as they were beaten 0-1 by 10-man Brentford to fall seven points behind leaders Arsenal.
Unai Emery’s charges have now won just one of their previous four Premier League outings (W1-D1-L2), but that did come in their most recent away match, as they defeated Newcastle United 0-2 at St James’ Park.
Bournemouth’s recent upturn in form continued last weekend as they ran out 0-2 winners away at rock-bottom Wolves.
After enduring an 11-game winless run between the start of November and the turn of the year (W0-D5-L6), Andoni Iraoloa’s men have gone on to win three of their next four (W3-D1-L0), including back-to-back 3-2 victories at home against Spurs and reigning champions Liverpool.
The Cherries are now up to 12th position in the Premier League table, just three points behind seventh-placed Brentford.
How the bookies view it: Villa slight favourites
Despite winning just one of their previous four Premier League outings, Aston Villa have been chalked up as slight favourites for this clash, with bet365 pricing an away success at 29/20.
Bournemouth are 7/4 with the same firm to claim a third consecutive win at home in the Premier League, whilst the draw is 5/2.
Head to head: Six unbeaten for Villa
Aston Villa are unbeaten in each of their previous six meetings with Bournemouth (W3-D3-L0), including a thumping 4-0 victory in the reverse fixture at Villa Park in November.
Players to watch: Evanilson to hit the target at the Vitality once again?
Since his move from Porto in the summer of 2024, Evanilson has scored 15 goals and provided six assists across his 53 Premier League appearances, with five of those goals coming this campaign.
After a slow start to the campaign, the Brazilian appears to have found a bit of form, particularly at the Vitality, as he has scored in each of his previous three Premier League appearances there, and is an appealing 17/10 at William Hill to Score or Assist on Saturday.
Predicted line-ups:
Bournemouth will be missing the injured Julio Soler, Matai Akinmboni, Tyler Adams, David Brooks, Marcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert and Ben-Gannon-Doak.
Unai Emery will be unable to call upon Andres Garcia, Boubakar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn, whilst striker Ollie Watkins is a doubt.
AFC Bournemouth: Petrovic, Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Scott, Cook, Jimenez, Kroupi, Adli, Evanilson
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Bogarde, Luiz, Sancho, Rogers, Buendia, Abraham
Anything else catch the eye?
Bournemouth’s opening 24 Premier League fixtures this season have averaged a league-high 3.46 goals per game, with Both Teams to Score paying out in 17 (67%) of them, whilst 15 (63%) have gone Over 2.5 Goals.
The Cherries’ last three Premier League fixtures in front of their supporters have finished in a 3-2 scoreline (W2-D0-L1), and more entertainment is expected on Saturday against Aston Villa.
Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals has also landed in five of Villa’s last seven Premier League encounters on the road, and a repeat pays an appealing 10/11 at Betfred.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
GambleAware