Millwall v Aston Villa: Lions to inflict more Villa cup blues
Published:Aston Villa’s Capital One Cup catastrophe in midweek means they should be there for the taking when they enter the Lion’s Den.
The only ounce of positivity that Paul Lambert can extract from his sides’ embarrassing exit at the hands of League Two’s Bradford City is that the Villans can now channel all of their energy into the relegation scrap they’re right in the mix of. This means they’re likely to field a team that’s even more inexperienced than what normally turns out for Premier League games and Millwall’s 11/8 price for the win should be taken advantage of.
The fact that Villa are expected to lose to an average Championship team typifies the dire state of affairs the club are in at present and it’s tough to imagine there being a mob of bettors jumping on their odds of 15/8, or even the 12/5 for the draw, for that matter.
Since losing to Leicester in the Chris Wood bidding war, Millwall’s goals have not been quite forthcoming and, with Nottingham Forest keen on taking talismanic Darius Henderson to the City Ground before the transfer window slams shut, Villa can could yet be lining up against toothless Lions.
Millwall have won just twice in the league since the sun set on November and a 1-0 victory was all they could manage against League One outfit Preston in the third round.
Four of their previous five games have seen fewer than 2.5 goals scored and, with Villa in disarray, this game is poised to follow suit. It’s 5/6 for the total to fall below this mark in the upcoming encounter, while under 2.5 goals coupled with a home win pays at a juicy 4/1.
A tiny thread of hope that Villa fans can cling to is that, of their 16 away-days this campaign, they have only failed to find the back of the net on five occasions.
They’ve broken the deadlock in three of their last four in which they’ve beaten the home team’s keeper and the 11/10 that says they’ll do it again could prove a generous price.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
