Burnley's fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League continues on Thursday night, as Aston Villa play host to the Clarets at Villa Park. The hosts were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last time out, while Mike Jackson's survival task was made all the more difficult with a 1-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur
Burnley have failed to win 17 of their last 18 matches (Premier League). Burnley have failed to score in their last 3 matches (Premier League). There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Aston Villa's last 6 home games (Premier League). There have been under 2.5 goals scored in Burnley's last 3 away games (Premier League).
Jed Steer and Morgan Sanson missed the 2-0 win over Norwich in midweek through COVID-19. Few changes are expected from Steven Gerrard for the welcome of Burnley, though teenager Carney Chukwuemeka stands a decent chance of starting over the festive period. Sean Dyche will hope to recover key attacker Maxwel Cornet for the trip to Villa Park on Saturday. Burnley have a couple of former Aston Villa players in their ranks in Matt Lowton and Ashley Westwood. Both will start here. Connor Roberts is a doubt with illness, while Dale Stephens and Ashley Barnes will miss out once again. Josh Brownhill will look to replace Jack Cork in midfield, while Jay Rodriguez and Matej Vydra are on standby to start up front.
Steven Gerrard has won four of his first six matches in charge of Aston Villa, only suffering defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool. Even those losses were by just a single goal. Realistically, he couldn't have hoped for a better start. An outbreak of COVID-19 at Watford led to Burnley's match with the Hornets on Wednesday being postponed so their players will be fresher heading into this weekend's match. Burnley have only lost two of their last 10 in the league but have drawn seven times in that run. Turning one point into three has been a big problem for Burnley this season. Villa have actually failed to win their last three home matches against Burnley but stand a great chance of rectifying that given the way they are now playing under Gerrard. 2:0
*The Lions are on a great run since Steven Gerrard took the charge, with 4 victories and 2 defeats, most recently beating Norwich 2-0 away, climbing to 10th with 22 points. *Villa have 23 goals in favor and 25 allowed, with a 1.75 average goal/match at home this season, while conceding 1.37. *Ollie Watkins is team’s top scorer with 5. *On the other hand, the Clarets salvaged a goalless draw against West Ham last week, sitting 18th with 11 points. *Burnley have 14 goals in favor and 21 allowed, conceding 1.63 goals away from home on average, with 0.75 scored. *Cornet Maxwel is team’s top scorer with 5. *This game last season ended in a goalless stalemate, while Burnley beat Villa 3-2 at home. *In their 8 league meetings, each side has won twice while drawing 4. Prediction: Aston Villa -1.0
Aston Villa 2-1 Burnley Villa have not beaten Burnley at Villa Park since October 2010, but the home side have shown excellent form under Gerrard, and we are expecting a Villa victory on Saturday afternoon, albeit by a close scoreline.