Premier League preview and odds: West Bromwich Albion vs Aston Villa

Published on: 21/01/2016

Premier League preview and odds: West Bromwich Albion vs Aston Villa

January 23, 2016 15:00pm - The Hawthorns

Premier League

West Bromwich Albion can further establish their credentials as mid-table kings on Saturday when league lost boys Aston Villa make the short trip to the Hawthorns in the Barclays Premier League.

Baggies on quest to be average

While some clubs seem to slide up and down the Premier League table on the back of good or bad runs, West Brom just seem to hover in mid-table. In fact, they have yet to lose or win more than two league games in a row this season.

They have a fairly decent home record in the league this term, with just one defeat in their last five games at the Hawthorns. They come into this game on the back of 3-0 away defeat to Southampton, and prior to that, they held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Every game a battle for Villa

Aston Villa have already been written off as relegation fodder and have nothing left to lose in each game they play. As a result, they can approach each game with a different attitude to their relegation rivals. This could spell danger for opposition teams like West Brom who are sat in the middle of the table with their feet up.

Remi Gardes men come into this game on the back of an impressive draw at home to second-ranked Leicester City. Prior to that, they bagged their first league win since the opening day of the season when they beat Crystal Palace by a goal to nil at Villa Park.

Team news

The home side are without Chris Brunt, James Morrison, Jonas Olsson, Saido Beranhino and Darren Fletcher.

Meanwhile, the Villains will have to cope without the services of Adama Traore, Jordan Amavi, Leandro Bacuna, Alan Hutton and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Recent form (League)

West Bromwich Albion: LDWWL

Aston Villa: DWLLD

Betting odds and tips

Villa are facing an uphill battle for survival, and will be throwing everything at their Midland rivals. They may just have enough to come away with a point from the Hawthorns.

The draw can be backed at 12/5 with Betfred.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 21/01/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (21/01/2016 17:29:37) but are subject to change.