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The final game of this week’s English Premier League action comes from Villa Park, where Aston Villa host Southampton in a game that is sure to have consequences at both ends of the table. Join The Roar for live scores and text commentary at 7:00am (AEDT).
The hosts go into this game on the back of a wretched run, with their spell of six defeats in the league only halted last time out with a stalemate against West Ham, a far from surprising result giving their inability to score goals in the campaign.
Paul Lambert’s men have netted just five goals in eleven games this term, coincidentally the same amount as opponents Southampton have conceded – the best defensive record in the league by a long stretch.
Despite their woeful record to date, Villa somehow find themselves outside the bottom three, although just one separates the Midlands club from the dreaded drop zone, ramping up the need to pick up something from this a home fixture.
That, however, will be a far from easy task against one of the Premier League’s surprise packages of the season to date.
Having been tipped for a tough season by most, including Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, Southampton currently sit behind Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League table with eight wins from 11 fixtures thus far.
A win at Villa Park would stretch their advantage over third-placed Manchester City to four points, making the whispers of possible Champions League qualification even more deafening.
Ronald Koeman has instilled a strong team philosophy within the Saints, similar to that of predecessors Mauricio Pochettino and Nigel Adkins, leading to four straight wins without even conceding a goal in the process.
All the stats point to one result in this fixture.
But we all know that sport is much more fickle than numbers and trends, a viewpoint Paul Lambert will be grasping to as he looks to keep his name above the manager’s door.
Prediction: 1-2
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