Aston Villa vs Liverpool - Preview, Best Bets & H2H Record
- JN Value Betting
- Feb 18
- 2 min read
BEST BETS:
ASTON VILLA - DRAW NO BET - 2/1 (SKY BET) - 1PT
OLLIE WATKINS - TO SCORE OR ASSIST - 7/5 (PADDY POWER) - 1PT
Despite easing into the Champions League Last 16, Liverpool have not seen the benefit of having these last two midweeks free. Due to making the Carabao Cup Final, they are playing their second consecutive midweek fixture, and with this being their seventeenth game in just 59 days, you can see it is starting to take its toll on the league leaders. They managed to cling onto their 2-1 victory at home to Wolves on Sunday, with them failing to register a shot in the second half. They won't be looking forward to their trip to the Midlands with Aston Villa looking to heap the pressure on the sides chasing the Champions League places. Villa did drop two points at home to relegation threatened Ipswich on Saturday, even with the Tractor Boys going down to ten men late in the first half. Should they have taken their chances, they would have recorded a comfortable win. Although Villa have had to contend with fixture congestion, they will be coming into this one fresher than their opponents having had four less games in the aforementioned period.
Whilst it was by no means a comfortable victory, it was three points for Liverpool, and that will be enough for them to claim the Premier League title. However, I can see Aston Villa inflicting another uncomfortable evening for Liverpool supporters. Unai Emery's men have only lost once at home all season, with that defeat coming back in August in their first home fixture of the season against Arsenal. They've gone undefeated in their next twelve at home, and given the fixture congestion that Liverpool are facing, I can see them struggling to get the better of them. Liverpool have won just two of their last seven on the road, albeit those two victories were against Brentford and Bournemouth who both boast strong home form. I am happy to take 2/1 on offer for Draw No Bet for the home side. Should Villa maintain their unbeaten home run, we will get at least a refund, with us getting a winner if they manage to win the game.
If Aston Villa are to win the game, they will likely be relying on talisman Ollie Watkins who scored his eleventh Premier League goal of the season on Saturday. That was his ninth game in his last twelve where he has recorded a goal involvement (a goal or assist), and I am happy to take the 7/5 on offer for him to do so once more. Villa have scored in seventeen of their twenty home matches in all competitions this season and Watkins has had a goal involvement in nine of the fifteen that he has started at Villa Park this season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
LAST 5 MATCHES:
09/11/2024 - LIVERPOOL 2-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
13/05/2024 - Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool (Premier League)
03/09/2023 - LIVERPOOL 3-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
20/05/2023 - Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
26/12/2022 - Aston Villa 1-3 LIVERPOOL (Premier League)
