Aston Villa welcome Burnley to Villa Park in a crucial rearranged Premier League encounter as the Clarets battle relegation.
Victory would see Aston Villa climb to 11th if Crystal Palace lose elsewhere, whilst at least one point would see Burnley climb out of the relegation zone at Leeds’ expense.
Team News
Ezri Konsa is ruled out for Aston Villa after he suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
Leon Bailey (ankle) is unlikely to be in contention but Kortney Hause (abdominal) definitely remains absent.
Burnley could welcome James Tarkowski and Jay Rodriguez back from hamstring injuries.
Ben Mee (knee) and Dale Stephens (knock) are both doubtful but Erik Pieters, Matej Vydra (both knee) Ashley Westwood (ankle) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Aston Villa have won just two of their last seven meetings against Burnley (W2, D3, L2).
- Burnley are unbeaten in three of four Premier League visits to Villa Park (W1, D2, L1).
- Villa are yet to be awarded a penalty in this Premier League fixture, following nine previous clashes in which Burnley scored from their only penalty kick.
- No Villa player has been involved in more league goals this season than Danny Ings, who has netted seven goals and provided six assists for his teammates.
- Dwight McNeil has produced more shots than any other Burnley player in the Premier League this season, having created 48 shots but failed to convert any of his shots into goals.
Prediction
Having played well in attack amidst wasted chances in Sunday’s fair draw against Palace whilst also defending well when needed, Villa can take heart from their recent performances at home as they look to finish as high as possible.
Burnley meanwhile always were going to struggle to beat Tottenham on Sunday yet delivered a stubborn defensive effort amidst wasted attacking opportunities, only to be harshly denied a point by a tight VAR decision so I do expect them to come out and chase the win here.
If that is indeed the case then I expect Villa to try and hit Burnley on the counter because they will know the pressure is on Burnley, so can afford to relax and defensively get stuck in with quick attacking moves where necessary.
It is games like these though which has brought out the best in Burnley in the last month so the first goal will be crucial, in which I reckon that the Clarets will win if they net first otherwise Villa will surely fancy a win to finish their final home game of the season on a high.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Burnley