Aston Villa v Everton Betting Tip Over 2.5 goals – Saturday 2 May

Premier League Tips

The arrival of Tim Sherwood at Villa Park has reinvigorated what was a desolate club. In a little over three months the former Tottenham manager has guided Aston Villa to the FA Cup final and given them more hope of staying in the Premier League. They have four games left to play and sit two places outside the bottom three, but are only a couple of points better off then Sunderland who occupy the final relegation position. What will also be a concern for Sherwood and the club’s supporters is that the Black Cats have played game less. There’s no doubt that performances have improved and Villa also look much more threatening going forward, but this stage of the season is all about results and Villa have only taken four points from the last 15.

Last Sunday’s comprehensive 3-0 win at home to Manchester United was Everton’s fourth victory in five games and took them back into the top half of the table for the first time since last year. Without a doubt, it was the most impressive performances in their recent run and was reminiscent of how they performed for the majority of last season. That is the standard that Roberto Martinez has to find a way to get his team back to, on a consistent basis, for next season. Their aim between now and the end of the campaign will be to remain unbeaten and try to finish as strongly as they possibly can. European football is clearly beyond them at this stage but that may not be a bad thing for their domestic from, next season, as participation in the Europa League has clearly impacted on them, this season.

Villa’s last game was a five goal thriller away to Manchester City but although they fought back valiantly from two goals down, they left the Etihad pointless. Sherwood clearly has a philosophy that he sticks by no matter what, which is admirable, but there comes a time when his team have to be more pragmatic. Since taking over at the club he has been in charge for nine games in the Premier League. Of those nine, Villa have kept just one clean sheet which came in their 4-0 win away to Sunderland. I think it’s something that has to change otherwise I can see Villa slipping back into the bottom three.

This time last season Everton were still challenging for a place in the top four and whilst they have been unable to reach those heights this time around, last weekend’s win and performance will give them optimism for the new season. It’s well documented how difficult it is to break into those Champions League spots and it could be that they are short of that level, but a squad with Everton’s quality should be looking to finish in the top six or seven. That is more than realistic but such is the unforgiving nature of this league, because they have performed poorly, it has meant other teams have stepped into their place and will make it even harder to finish there in future.

These are two of the original Premier League clubs who have never been relegated. Game between these two sides are usually entertaining and contain plenty of goals. The last 16 meetings in all competitions have seen a total of 53 goals which works out at an average of 3.3 goals per game. As mentioned earlier, Villa have been more potent in front of goal since Sherwood took over, with six of his nine league games in charge containing three or more goals. The goals have not been quite as free-flowing in matches involving Everton but they have a renewed confidence and will be playing with more freedom than their opponents with the motivation of continuing their excellent recent run, which I think will make for an end-to-end contest

Over 2.5 goals 6/5 @ Betfair