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Aston Villa supporters might have one eye on their Champions League trip to Switzerland when they take on Young Boys at Wankdorf Stadium, but manager Unai Emery will only have eyes on three points against Everton.
Three points is desperately what Sean Dyche and his Everton side need after a horrendous start to the 2024-25 Premier League season.
Aston Villa currently find themselves seventh on the Premier League ladder thanks to two wins and one defeat from their opening three matches.
Their only defeat in the Premier League this season was a 2-0 home loss against title contenders Arsenal.
They got back to winning ways just before the international break with Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran both getting on the score sheet in a 2-1 away win over Leicester City.
It is obviously early days, but a victory for Villa would move them up the ladder and fill them with confidence ahead of the start of their Champions League journey on Tuesday.
Emery is still without injured trio Matty Cash, Boubakar Kamara and Tyrone Mings, while they are sweating on the fitness of two key performers.
Ollie Watkins was forced to withdraw from England’s two games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland with what was described as an ongoing issue, while Leon Bailey was taken off in the win over Leicester City with a hamstring problem.
Both players will be assessed before a decision is made on whether they feature against the Toffees or not.
It has been a disastrous start to the Premier League season for Everton as they are bottom of the ladder with zero points and a goal difference of minus eight.
After avoiding the drop last season, many thought Dyche and his team would kick on and not be involved in a relegation battle again.
That might end up being the case, but at the moment they cannot buy a win. Evidence of this was shown when they led 2-0 at home to Bournemouth with three minutes of normal time remaining and went on to lose 3-2.
Goals in the 87th, 92nd and 96th minute left Goodison Park in silence as they threw away three points in dramatic fashion.
If they fail to start picking up points soon, Dyche could be the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season.
Blues captain Seamus Coleman is an injury doubt for Everton after picking up a knock on international duty, while Nathan Paterson and Jarrad Branthwaite are both still out with hamstring and groin injuries respectively.
Aston Villa and Everton have locked horns a lot of times over the years. Villa have won 72 of those meetings with 46 of those victories happening on home soil.
Everton have recorded 64 victories over Aston Villa, and they will be hoping to claim their 26th victory against Villa away from home.
The Toffees have won just one of their last six meetings at Villa Park. That victory took place last season in the Carabao Cup thanks to goals from James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Aston Villa have kept a clean sheet in four of their last six encounters.
It is hard to rule out a team so early in the season, but the longer Everton go without picking up any points, the harder it will be to remain in the Premier League. They do not want to start life at their new Bramley Dock Stadium in the Championship. Take a look at the key stats and best betting odds ahead of the game between Aston Villa and Everton.
Despite not winning at home this season, Aston Villa are clear favourites to win and can be backed at 2/1. The Toffees are rank outsiders at 11/2 to take all three points and the draw is on offer at 16/5.
Ollie Watkins received the adulation of a whole nation when he came off the bench to score the winning goal against the Netherlands to send England to the Euro 2024 Final in Germany.
Unfortunately he could not replicate his heroics in the final, but he showed to everyone that he belongs at the top level. He has not had the best of starts - which is common with players who have not had a full pre-season.
He is lethal in front of goal, give him half a yard and he will punish you. If he manages to shake off a knock, he will relish taking on an Everton defence low on confidence.
Villa have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 11 matches. Backing both teams not to score might be a bold bet, but we really cannot see Everton troubling Emiliano Martinez in the Villa goal.
We are backing Watkins to get on the score sheet and no to both teams scoring goals. This can be backed at 4/1with Bet365.
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