Premier League: Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa Picks — Villa’s UCL Challenge to Stumble at the Vitality Stadium? (May 10)

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa face a must-win clash at the Vitality Stadium in the contest of their push for a Champions League finish in the Premier League.

Villa’s form has been strong in recent weeks after winning four of their last five. However, they still sit three points adrift of fifth-place Chelsea with just three rounds of matches remaining.

Bournemouth could yet have hopes of catching Villa in the standings. The Cherries have avoided defeat in their last five matches, and a win on Saturday would see them close to within six points of their opponents.

Odds

Cherries Boast Fine Home Record Against Villa

Bournemouth lost their first-ever home Premier League match against Aston Villa in 2015. However, since then, they have gone three without defeat against the Villans at the Vitality Stadium.

The Cherries have scored at least twice in every match over that period. But, Villa are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches against Bournemouth.

Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa Key Stats

• Bournemouth have won seven of their last 13 Premier League matches when coming up against sides sitting above them in the league standings.
• Aston Villa have recorded seven wins in their last nine EPL matches. However, they have still lost twice across that period.

Bournemouth Team News

Dango Ouattara should be fit enough to return to the starting eleven this weekend. However, Enes Unai and Ryan Christie are longer-term absences for the Cherries.

Possible Lineup

K. Arrizabalaga (GK); J. Araujo, I. Zabarnyi, D. Huijsen, M. Kerkez, T. Adams, L. Cook, M. Tavernier, J. Kluivert, D. Ouattara, Evanilson

Aston Villa Team News

Unai Emery is without Marcus Rashford this weekend, and the forward is unlikely to feature again this season.

Possible Lineup

E. Martinez (GK); M. Cash, E. Konsa, P. Torres, L. Digne, Y. Tielemans, A. Onana, J. McGinn, M. Rogers, M. Asensio, O. Watkins

Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa Picks

Aston Villa and Bournemouth both come into this round of matches in excellent recent form. The visitors will be in good confidence after an excellent away win against Arsenal last Saturday.

The draw could make a lot of appeal on Saturday, as two of the last four meetings between the sides have ended in ties. With little to separate the sides, we could also foresee under 2.5 goals being scored.