STAR PREVIEW: Aston Villa v Everton
Aston Villa have had a rough return to the Premier League with a late defeat by Tottenham before conceding two goals inside 12 minutes against Bournemouth, but there have been positive signs for Dean Smith’s side and they shouldn’t fear Everton.
Villa took a surprise lead against Spurs on the first weekend of the season and held off Spurs manfully before giving way in the last 15 minutes, and they were 2-0 down after 12 minutes against Bournemouth thanks to a penalty and a deflected strike. Afterwards, they came back into the game very impressively, with Douglas Luiz’s goal much deserved after a lot of second half pressure.
The stats don’t lie here: Villa had 63% of the ball, won the shot count 22-12, won the shots on target count 7-4, and had 10 corners to 5 for Bournemouth. It’s possible that those numbers might have been influenced by the fact Villa were chasing the game, but an expected goals tally of 2.2 for 0.9 for Bournemouth according to Caley Graphics is an impressive showing and one that suggests they have the quality to win games.
Aston Villa v Everton
Premier League
20:00 Sky Sports Premier League / Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Ultra HD
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
MAR 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
NOV 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 4-0 Aston Villa
MAY 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 3-2 Everton
OCT 2014 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 3-0 Aston Villa
FEB 2014 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 2-1 Aston Villa
OCT 2013 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 0-2 Everton
FEB 2013 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 3-3 Aston Villa
AUG 2012 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
JAN 2012 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 1-1 Everton
SEP 2011 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
Everton have made a solid start to the season, with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace followed up by a 1-0 win against Watford. Marco Silva will be pleased with the way that this side started the game against Watford, with Bernard’s winning goal coming after just 10 minutes, whilst new signing Moise Kean impressed too.
However, Villa should take plenty of comfort from the strong second half performance Watford put in, and the fact the Hornets ended the game with an equal expected goals tally as well as more corners, and on the opening weekend Jordan Pickford was responsible for earning them a point as he made two saves from one on one situations against Crystal Palace.
Pound for pound it’s fair to say that the visitors have more quality with the likes of Lucas Digne, Andre Gomes, Richarlison, Bernard and Sigurdsson, but on the numbers so far there might be less between them and Villa than the market suggests. If the Toffees’ are to take a win, it may not come easy.
RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-100 points)
BACK Aston Villa 1-2 Everton 1 pt at 8/1 with starsports.bet
BACK Draw 1-1 1 pt at 11/2 with starsports.bet
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