Aston Villa vs. Everton Best Bet – Under 2.5 Match Goals +105
Final Score Bet – Everton 1-0 +900
Aston Villa fans may not like the ongoing comparisons between themselves and Fulham last season, but it’s getting harder and harder to ignore them. After spending over $125m in the summer, the Championship Playoff winners have now lost their opening 2 Premier League matches, just as 2017/18 Playoff victors Fulham did last season after their own summer spending spree.
We all know the end result of that season for The Cottagers, and Villa will need to find some level of cohesion soon if they are to avoid the same fate. Lagging behind early on in the relegation battle is always a worry for newly promoted clubs, and it will undoubtedly lead to increased tension around Villa Park.
Still, it hasn’t been all bad for Aston Villa. They have scored in both their Premier League games so far, although in both cases they were up against attack-minded teams who seemed content to let the Villains put pressure on the back line.
Everton won’t be quite so easy to break through though. The Toffees have kept a clean sheet in both their league outings this season, which is unsurprising given their defensive approach to preseason. They saw a total of just 3 goals in their 5 preseason friendlies and have seen a single goal scored in their 2 competitive matches so far.
This came as Bernard rattled in an early goal against Watford last weekend to earn Marco Silva’s side their first 3 points of the season, and we can expect this defensive focus to continue. Everton ended last term with the joint 5th best defensive record in the league, beating both Arsenal and Manchester United in this metric.
The result was plenty of low scoring matches, and we’re predicting another one on Friday. Everton have seen fewer than 3 goals in 8 of their last 10 Premier League matches, keeping a clean sheet in 8 of these as well. 4 of their last 5 away days in the league have ended with fewer than 3 goals scored too, so we think backing Under 2.5 Goals is a great shout here along with a narrow 1-0 win for The Toffees.
