West Brom vs Aston Villa
EFL Championship. Kick-off: 8pm, Friday 7th December. Live on Sky Sports Football/Sky Sports Main Event.
THIS West Midlands derby has the makings of a cracker with both teams desperate to seal promotion and earn a ticket back to the big time.
Aston Villa are arguably the Championship's form team and Dean Smith has done a tremendous job since taking over from Steve Bruce as gaffer.
They are unbeaten in five games, with the only points dropped coming in an incredible 5-5 draw with Nottingham Forest at Villa Park.
Had they not shipped a late equaliser to 10-man Forest in that game it would be five wins on the spin under Smith and assistant John Terry.
What's most impressive about Villa's recent run has been the standard of opposition, with Smith's side delivering in some massive matches.
They thrashed Frank Lampard's Derby 3-0 on the road, saw off derby rivals Birmingham 4-2 at home and defeated Tony Pulis' Middlesbrough 3-0 at the Riverside.
That's title-winning form and if Villa follow it up with another massive win at West Brom then they have to be considered as genuine contenders for automatic promotion.
888 Sport have Villa at 39/20 for another derby victory, with West Brom 13/10 and the draw 49/20.
The Baggies dropped two points against Brentford on Monday in a game I expected them to win quite comfortably.
Lewis Macleod's stoppage-time equaliser will have hurt them as deeply as it did me because West Brom should have been out of sight by then, having blown a series a chances.
Darren Moore's men haven't been solid at the back all season, keeping just two clean sheets, and I can see goals in this one.
Unfortunately, so can the bookies and the odds for both teams to score are a bit stingy at 4/9 with 888 Sport, who also quote just 3/5 on over 2.5 match goals.
It may be best to stretch the odds a little by doubling up with a result and I like the look of a draw with both teams to score at 3/1 with 888 Sport. A Villa win in the same market is 18/5, which may be worth a flutter, while a West Brom win is 29/10.
Derbies are usually feisty affairs so I like the look of over 4.5 cards which is available at 11/5 with 888 Sport.
Tammy Abraham has been a goal machine for Villa, netting seven times in his last four games, so he has to be considered at 23/5 for first scorer and 7/5 for anytime scorer.
For West Brom, Matt Phillips offers good value at 19/2 for first scorer and 10/3 to net any time in the 90 minutes.
Recommended bets
- Draw and both teams to score 3/1 (888 Sport)
- Tammy Abraham anytime scorer 7/5 (888 Sport)
- Over 4.5 cards 11/5 (888 Sport)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
