Keane keen to get straight back on the goal trail in England
Published:Two LA Galaxy team-mates will face each other on Saturday as Aston Villa meet Everton at Villa Park.
Robbie Keane will line up to make his debut for the home side, while Landon Donovan will be in the visitors’ side in the midst of his second loan spell with the club.
Former Tottenham striker Keane has made the move back to the Premier League as he looks to stay sharp ahead of Euro 2012, where he will captain Ireland, and he will be desperate to show he can still perform and score goals at a level as competitive as the Premier League.
Keane is 6/1 to score the first goal at the weekend, and those odds look huge considering he has found the net on four of his ten debuts at clubs, firing braces on two of those occasions.
The Irishman is sure to be utilised as a foil for Darren Bent, and should add an edge to a Villa attack that has had to sustain accusations of bluntness since Alex McLeish took charge of the club in the summer.
Keane has unquestionable pedigree, having smashed well over 100 Premier League goals throughout his career, along with having earned the privilege to be known as the Republic of Ireland’s record goal scorer, with over 50 international strikes.
Having also commanded more than £75 million in combined transfer fees throughout his various moves, the buzz generated by Keane’s arrival in the Midlands is understandable, and each of these facts further confirm that 6/1 is a very generous price for him to score first on his Villa bow.
An influential figure on the pitch, Keane’s character will be as big a plus point as his natural football ability, and it could be worth paying some attention to the attractive 7/5 odds available for Aston Villa to score a much-needed home victory over an Everton side weakened by injuries, particularly to central defensive pairing Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin.
