Seventh and eighth in the Premier League clash at Villa Park on Wednesday night and the home side are opposed at what look cramped odds.
Both Aston Villa and Everton’s challenge for a Champions League spot this season is almost guaranteed to end in failure but it has been another 12 months of progress for the pair and in particular David Moyes’ side.
The Toffees would have been still in the hunt for fourth place were it not for a crippling injury list at the start of the campaign, which saw them without key men for a prolonged period, and they enter Wednesday’s encounter unbeaten in six.
Draws in their last two fixtures, at home to West Ham and at Molineux versus Wolves, were disappointments on the back of Everton’s excellent 2-0 win at Eastlands but they have become very tough to beat since the turn of the year and still carry plenty of threat going forward.
Striker Louis Saha has been a revelation for Moyes this season, he currently has 13 goals to his name in the top flight, and with quality service assured from the likes of Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta from midfield Everton are currently very much a team to be feared.
Four points separates the pair at present, with Villa holding the advantage, but the host’s home form throughout this season has been patchy and nobody in the Premier League top half have won less games in front of their own fans than Martin O’Neill’s men.
An aggregate 10-1 loss to Chelsea in the past fortnight in both league and cup is not a fair reflection Villa’s ability but they were also held at home in the past month against Wolves and Sunderland and have looked well below their best in 2010.
Having kept just two clean sheets in their past 13 matches, Villa are likely to need to find the net on more than one occasion if they are to gain all three points but that looks unlikely against such a well-drilled Everton defence and the excellent Tim Howard in goal and even the visitor’s mediocre away form isn’t enough to dissuade me this is an excellent wager.
A draw would probably be satisfactory for the pair and that looks the most likely outcome.
3pts Lay Aston Villa (vs. Everton) @ 2.38 (Betfair)
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