English Premier
2012-04-24 - Aston Villa vs Bolton Wanderers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 24 April 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Aston Villa
The pressure is mounting on Alex McLeish and his Aston Villa side as the teams below them in the table continue picking up wins. This has left them in an awkward position with 4 games left to play this season, a position that could look very scary if they fail to get something from this game.
Villa are 15th in the Premier League table, and they are just 5 points clear of Blackburn Rovers in the final relegation spot while a further point clear of their opponents Bolton Wanderers. The team are 4-6-7 at Villa Park this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding 22.
Their poor run of form was extended at the weekend as they drew 0-0 with Sunderland here and they have now won just 1 of their last 12 Premier League games. Villa have won just 1 of their last 11 League games at Villa Park, although they looks mightily important as it came courtesy of a 93rd minute winner.
James Collins is the latest injury for Alex McLeish to deal with and he joins Richard Dunne on the sidelines. Gabby Agbonlahor will need to pass a late fitness test to join the side.
Bolton Wanderers
Owen Coyle described the season as a 'freak' one due to the number of injuries his side has had to deal with so far, but he has to go into battle with the troops he can rely on as Bolton Wanderers have 5 games left to save their Premier League status.
Bolton are now 19th in the Premier League table and find themselves 4 points behind Wigan Athletic and QPR in the positions of safety as those two clubs have found a bit of form recently. However, they may feel confident they can close that gap as they actually have more away wins this season than they do at the Reebok Stadium. Bolton are 5-0-11 away from home, scoring 17 goals and conceding 33.
The team picked up a point against Swansea at home at the weekend, but the fans expected more from the side and that was highlighted by wins for Blackburn Rovers and QPR. Bolton have failed to win any of their last 3 games in the Premier League, but they had won 3 consecutive League games before this run. They have won just 1 of their last 6 away games in the League, but have faced 4 of the top six in that run.
Owen Coyle has plenty of injury worries to contend with, but will be hoping that Darren Pratley and Mark Davies can shake off knocks to take their place in the midfield which has been decimated. Josh Vela is on standby to make his first start for the club.
Head to Head
This will be the third meeting of the season between the teams with both having won on the away ground already.
Aston Villa won the League game at the Reebok Stadium 1-2, but were beaten here by Bolton in the Carling Cup.
Bolton have won just 1 of their last 10 League visits to this ground, but 4 of those games have ended in draws including a 1-1 last season.
Prediction
Both teams have plenty of injury problems throughout the squads, but I just have a feeling that Bolton Wanderers are in a better position all around than Aston Villa and they look tasty for a small interest at 4.33.
Bolton have actually won more away games than they have at home, while Villa have struggled for goals recently as well as getting wins here. In fact, their last two home games have seen the opposition controversially denied winning goals, while teams like West Brom, Swansea and Wolves have avoided defeat or won here.
Bolton themselves have beaten Blackburn Rovers, Wolves, QPR and Wigan Athletic all away from home this season so can complete the set of the relegation contenders if they can get the win tonight.
They look a little more solid in the final third than Villa, while they have less issues in defence. If they can put in a performance similar to the one they had at Newcastle United a couple of weeks ago, Bolton can definitely make hay and close the gap between themselves and QPR/Wigan Athletic while also leapfrogging Blackburn in the table.
The 4.33 looks a touch big to me considering Villa's home form and their own injury issues.
The Pick :
Aston Villa 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Bolton Wanderers @ 4.33
