Aston Villa vs Burnley: Burnley to hold Villa in Premier League

Aston Villa welcome Burnley to Villa Park on Thursday evening, with both teams on a high after important wins in their previous games.

Villa were second best for large parts of the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, but eventually got the winner in a game that both sides finished with 10 men.

Villa had lost 2-1 to both West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion before that game so it was important for Dean Smith’s charges to win the Midlands Derby at Molineux on Saturday.

Villa are 11th in the Premier League, but have two games in hand at the moment.

For Burnley, the win against Arsenal on Sunday night was massive, as it took them out of the relegation zone.

Reason for Aston Villa vs Burnley predictions:

• Burnley have lost just one in their last five Premier League fixtures.
• Aston Villa have lost each of their last three games at Villa Park.
• Burnley have notched exactly one goal in three of their last four league games.
• The Clarets have conceded one or fewer goals in four of their last five league assignments.
• Aston Villa have drawn 3 of their last 5 matches against Burnley (all competitions).
• Aston Villa have drawn 2 of their last 3 home matches against Burnley (all competitions).
• Burnley have drawn 2 of their last 4 away matches (English Premier League).
• Burnley have seen under 2.5 goals in 6 of their last 8 matches (English Premier League).

Aston Villa can earn consecutive league wins against Burnley for the first time since November 1964, following their 2-1 victory at Turf Moor in January.

Aston Villa have won 51 out of 118 previous clashes against Burnley, while they have lost 40. A total of 27 previous games between these two teams have ended in draws.

These two sides have been hard to split with Burnley holding a 29-28 head to head advantage over Aston Villa. There have also been 18 draws.

Villa’s improvement in the past few months should give them reason to believe they can stay in the top half.

They are not just more of a threat going forward, they have shown with wins like the one they got at Wolves on Saturday that they can go out and keep things tight then nick the points, which is not what they were known for last season.

After their respective performances at the weekend, both sides will be confident of recording back-to-back wins. However, Villa will be expecting a defensive-minded performance from the visitors, and Smith’s outfit could capitalize if they are able to seize the initiative during the opening stages.

Our Prediction: Draw @ 3.99

Source: BetInAsia Black