Everton vs Aston Villa: Everton to put Villa on the brink
Aston Villa head to Everton on Thursday evening knowing that victory is a must if they are to realistically avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Villans beat Crystal Palace on Sunday to remain within four points of safety with three games to go, while Everton are stuck in mid-table following defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Everton will look to get back on track in their chase for a Europa League place when they host relegation-threatened Aston Villa on Thursday night.
Everton were in fine form after the restart with two wins and a draw in first three matches. They have since lost 1-0 at Tottenham and 3-0 at Wolves as their struggles on the road continues.
Aston Villa remain four points from safety in the relegation zone after a poor run of form. They have lacked goals both home and away although Villa gave themselves a lifeline in their last match.
Villa’s most recent fixtures have seen them lose 1-0 at home to Wolves, 2-0 at Liverpool and 3-0 at home to Manchester United.
Everton vs Aston Villa Stats:
- Everton have seen under 2.5 goals in 3 of their last 4 home matches (Premier League).
- Everton are unbeaten in their last 10 home matches (Premier League).
- Aston Villa have seen under 2.5 goals in 4 of their last 6 away matches (Premier League).
- Aston Villa have lost to nil in 3 of their last 4 away matches (Premier League).
- Aston Villa have seen BTTS No in 5 of their last 9 away matches (all competitions).
- Aston Villa have lost 9 of their last 13 away matches (Premier League).
- Aston Villa won just two of their 17 Premier League away games this season.
- Both teams scored in five of Everton’s last six Premier League home assignments.
The pressure was on Villa heading into their clash with Crystal Palace at the weekend after seeing West Ham United and Watford pick up victories on Saturday.
Indeed, Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted as much on the back on Sunday’s 3-0 reverse at the hands of Wolves, a result that leaves the Merseyside outfit 11th in the table.
Everton are winless in three matches and are now 10 points off sixth-placed Wolves, meaning that Europa League qualification is out of the question.
This is a game Villa must realistically take three points from to keep their survival hopes intact. Everton may have little to play for, but they have a good home record this season and will be desperate to bounce back following a recent slump in form.
Aston Villa 0.0 (Asian Handicap Cards) @ 1.8
