English Premier
2008-11-09 - Aston Villa vs Middlesbrough
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Aston Villa
This match represents another opportunity for Villa to move back into the top 4 of the Premier League after seeing Manchester United lose on Saturday. They are currently in 5th position with a 6-2-3 record, scoring 19 goals and conceding 14. Villa are 3-2-0 at Villa Park and have scored 9 goals while conceding 5.
Villa have only lost 1 of their last 6 games in all competitions. They have also won 4 of their last 5 games, including their last 2 games at home in all competitions. Villa are unbeaten in their last 5 games in all competitions at home, but will be concerned that they have only kept 1 clean sheet in those games.
James Milner is back in squad. However, Villa will miss Petrov again in this game.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough have been one of the most inconsistant teams in the Premier League. They sit in 10th spot at the moment but are only 3 points better off than those teams sitting in the relegation zone. They have a 4-2-5 record with 11 goals scored and 16 conceded. Boro are 1-1-3 away from home with 4 goals scored and 7 conceded. They are one of the lowest scoring away teams in the Premier League.
Middlesbrough bounced back from their 0-5 drubbing at home to Chelsea to record 2 draws and a win in their last 3 games. Boro have actually only lost 1 of their last 5 games. After losing 4 consecutive away games in all competitions at the start of the season, Middlesbrough have remained unbeaten in their last 2 games away from home.
Middlesbrough will pick either Mido or Alves up front. Justin Hoyte and Julio Arca are also likely to be given starting places.
Head to Head
Middlesbrough have only won 1 of their last 7 games with Aston Villa but have a surprisingly good record at Villa Park in recent seasons.
Villa have only won 1 of their last 5 games at Villa Park against Middlesbrough and the last 2 games here have both ended 1-1.
Prediction
Aston Villa will look for a stronger performance than the one they gave at Newcastle last Monday night and will be hoping to move into the top 4 to give them confidence going into their next 2 games with Arsenal and Manchester United.
Middlesbrough will be hoping to continue their recent decent form since the beating against Chelsea, but they will begin looking back over their shoulder after the teams below them all narrowed the gap last weekend.
Aston Villa may not have a great recent record at home against Middlesbrough but they have been performing well there recently and I will expect them to pick up the 3 points from this game.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Aston Villa 2-1 Middlesbrough
