Aston Villa v Sunderland: O’Neill to add to Villa’s woes
Published:Aston Villa host old manager Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland in the Midlands on Saturday in a game that The Villans are priced at 5/4 to win to dispel any worries of relegation.
Alex Mcleish’s side have won only once since the end of January and will need to buck the trend and produce a first three points in six games if they are to avoid being dragged into the relegation battle.
Sunderland are part of a number of clubs keen to finish in a top eight position and they head into this one at 2/1 to emerge victorious after an indifferent spell that has seen them garner only three points from their last five games .
Despite this, O’Neill himself has also never lost a Premier League tie against one of his old clubs, drawing four and winning four of the eight meetings, and with Villa winning only once at home in their last ten, the Northern Irishmen should extend that record.
The draw is available at 23/10 and with Villa drawing two of their last three and the Mackems being involved in a stalemate in three of their last four outings then this should draw some attention.
Sebastian Larsson always poses a threat from set pieces and is the North East club’s joint top scorer and represents good value at 10/1 to strike first here.
The Midland’s club have hardly been amongst the goals this season, scoring only 35 in the league and with top scorer Darren Bent injured youngster Andreas Weimann has stepped up of late, including scoring the winner in Villa’s last victory against Fulham, he’s 6/1 to net the opener.
Mcleish’s side have lost 17 points after scoring the first goal this term, so a price of 22/1 for the home side to be leading at half-time only to be defeated by the final whistle is one that punters should consider.
