Premier League betting: Wolves v Aston Villa
Villa are looking solid this season and will have a tentative eye on a top four place, but Wolves’ inconsistency make them a difficult team to bet on. Jaymes Monte tries to decipher an angle of attack for Saturday’s early kick-off. Best Bet: Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.9
Back Aston Villa @ 2.24;
Back Under 2.5 goals @ 1.9;
Back Wolves to win 2-1 @ 13.5 to cover your stakes on the above two.
In recent weeks the invincible aura of the ‘big four’ has been slowly chipped away at by the chasing pack. Leading the line of attack, amongst others, have been Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa side.
Villa’s victory over Chelsea on Saturday morning of last week set the tone for a weekend where Liverpool were defeated at the Stadium of Light and Manchester United were seen hanging on to a slender lead at home to Bolton. With Manchester City’s new found wealth, Villa without a European burden and teams like Sunderland taking points off the big boys I can’t help thinking that if the big four monopoly on the Champions League places can’t be broken this season, then it may never be.
And if Villa are to be the side to break that stranglehold then they need to be picking up maximum points against the likes of Wolves, even on their travels.
The strength of Villa’s bench against Chelsea is a testament to the depth of quality in their squad this season. An issue which many alluded to when Villa began to slip away from the pack towards the tail end of last season. New signings James Collins and Richard Dunne have aptly filled the void at the back that was left by Martin Laursen’s retirement, and Emile Heskey’s concerns about his lack of first team football indicates the strength they now have at the top end of the pitch.
The return of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly have bolstered the ranks at Wolves, but they do not bring the top level quality to the table that the Villa side possess. Wolves’ performances over 90 minute periods this season have been mirrored by their results throughout this campaign. Wins against Wigan and Fulham and a draw away to Everton have been interspersed with losses at home to Portsmouth and a 5-2 defeat away to Sunderland. There has been no consistency in their performances over 90 minutes or results from game to game, making them an incredibly hard team to bet on.
The home side are priced at 3.7, Aston Villa at 2.24 and the draw available at 3.4. It is difficult to find an angle of attack for this one, but I would have to suggest that the combination of Wolves’ inconsistency and Villa’s strength mean that backing the 2.24 available on an away victory is the way forward.
Goals haven’t been as free flowing in games involving these two sides as they have in the rest of the league this season. Wolves have been involved in three 1-0 scorelines and six games with under 2.5 goals, whilst games involving Aston Villa have averaged just 2.375 goals. In a league which is averaging 3.0 goals per game these are statistics which point towards this one bucking the Premier League goal glut trend.
The fact that Richard Dunne is Aston Villa’s second top scorer with two goals and that Wolves only have one player who has got his name on the score sheet more than once – Kevin Doyle – speaks volumes. Under 2.5 goals is available at 1.9 and looks to be the play of the day.
Perhaps the most interesting observation however, is that when Villa have concede more than one goal this season, granted that has only been twice, they have lost. Wolves to win 2-1, available at 13.5 may provide a good safety net to backing Villa and Under 2.5 goals.
The best advise that I can give for this game, is to approach with caution. Although it could end up being a straight forward victory for Aston Villa, Wolves are more than capable of throwing a spanner or two into the works and derailing Villa’s ascent up the table.
