Aston Villa vs Hull City - Championship preview and odds

Published on: 05/08/2017

Aston Villa vs Hull City - Championship preview and odds

August 05 , 2016 17:30pm - Villa Park

Championship

This fixture has been awarded top billing on the Championship`s Saturday TV schedule and rightly so. Aston Villa may have fallen from grace but they remain one of English football`s most successful clubs, while Hull City have become Premier League regulars in recent years and will be expecting to compete for promotion once again.

John Terry will lead Villa out for the first time as boss Steve Bruce attempts to revive the club`s elite status in his first full year in charge. His challenge will begin against the club he led to the Premier League less two season ago. As well as the former Chelsea man, Villa has brought in Chris Samba and Glenn Whelan, so they will not be short on experience.

Villa were strong at home last year and they will look to continue that trend here. However, they still might struggle up front, an area where they have failed to strengthen so far. What`s more, last year`s top scorer Jonathan Kodjia is still not ready for action

Meanwhile, Hull City will be clinging to the fact that they finished last season well although it wasnt enough to keep them up. However, inspirational boss Marco Silva has since departed along with several key players and new boss Leonid Slutsky may have his work cut out engineering an instant return to the top flight. Having said that, the former goalkeeper boasts an impressive CV that includes several titles and trophies in Russia as well as plenty of Champions League experience.

With the Tigers needing to adapt to a new boss and with so many new faces in the spine of the team, you might expect them to take a few games to get going. However, they performed well in pre-season and come in to this game on the back of draws with Nantes and Ajax.

Recent form (All Comps)

Aston Villa: DDLDL

Hull City: DDWWL

Betting odds and tips

Villa will be favourites but Hull City have impressed in pre-season and conjure up a surprise here. Whats more, their young players could cause problems for some of Villas older heads, making their price of 4/1 seem like good value.

You can back the away win at 4/1 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris