SOUTHAMPTON will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four matches when they welcome an out-of-form Aston Villa to St Mary's on Friday night.
Following a slow start to the season, the Saints had to wait until matchday eight for their maiden league win of the campaign.
Ralph Hasenhüttl's side have since accumulated a further four points from their subsequent two top-flight tussles to steady the ship on the south coast.
Indeed, last weekend's 1-0 at Watford moved Southampton up to 14th place in the standings, one place and point above Friday night's visitors Aston Villa.
The Villans sticky patch continued with a 4-1 hammering at home to West Ham last Sunday, a game which brought up my recommended Bet Builder.
That latest setback has seen Villa boss Dean Smith come under increasing pressure, with the West Midlands outfit making the trip south looking to snap a four-match losing streak in the Premier League.
Outright Betting
Southampton have avoided defeat in eight of their last nine Premier League games against Aston Villa and the hosts head into this Friday night fixture as 19/17 (SBK) favourites.
Aston Villa have lost four of their last five top-flight road trips term and the bookies odds suggest those away day blues could be set to continue, with a Villa victory trading at 45/17 (SBK) while the stalemate pays 13/5 (SBK) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
This feels like a tricky fixture to tackle from a 1×2 perspective, so instead, I'm going to combine over zero Aston Villa goals, Aston Villa with a + 2 start on the handicap and over three Aston Villa corners, a 21/20 (William Hill) Bet Builder.
Despite their shaky start to the season, Aston Villa have managed to make the net bulge in all but one of their ten top-flight outings this term.
That batch of games includes road trips to Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham and with that in mind, I'm more than happy to back Dean Smith's side to strike at St Mary's.
Sure, Southampton have shutout Leeds and Watford in recent weeks, but the Saints shipped two goals at home to Burnley a fortnight ago and their latest visitors Aston Villa possess the attacking ability to get on the scoresheet.
To round off the Builder I'm going with over three Aston Villa corners – the Villans are traditionally strong flagkick performers, having hit the 4+ line in eight of their 10 Premier League matches this season, including each of their five away fixtures.
With all that in mind, coupled with the fact the aforementioned combination has clicked in each of Villa's last three away games, supporting the same formula seems like a sensible solution St Mary's on Friday night.
I'll also dip into the player card market and have a nibble on Southampton centre-back Mohammed Salisu to be booked at 7/1 with Boylesports.
The young Ghanaian defender has gone into the referees notebook in three of the Saints last seven Premier League matches and another caution looks worthy of a small play at a chunky price.
This English Premier League match between Southampton and Aston Villa will be played on Nov 5, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
