Aston Villa 2011/12 Premier League Betting Preview

McLeish ready for tough test at Villa

Premier League Betting

The Club:
There is a feel that Aston Villa may be able to start with a breath of fresh air this season. It was a very difficult season last year both on and off the pitch, and bringing in Alex McLeish to replace Gerard Houllier was perhaps not the smartest bit of business which the club could have done. The club really look as if they could go either way in Aston Villa Premier League Betting. With a couple more players and an attacking ethos, they could push on hard for another top half finish, but equally with a couple of injuries they look fragile enough to be drawn into a relegation battle quickly. The one thing helping Aston Villa and new boss McLeish, is that they have one of the easiest starts to the Premier League season of all clubs. They will have navigated their way through eleven matches with having faced only one of the top six teams from last year. So early points will be crucial for the club.

Players/Manager:
The experience which Gerard Houllier was supposed to bring last season didn’t quite marry too well with the crop of young players. There was also the problem with Houllier’s health which didn’t help, but in the end, and there is a big question over the fit of new boss Alex McLeish. What is working in Aston Villa’s favour is that they are a good young side, and they just need some nurturing. That is all. There was a big furore when former Birmingham boss Alex McLeish decided to take the short move across the city to take over at Villa Park. It wasn’t a popular move. Now, McLeish is experienced and can assemble a good future for Villa given patience by the board and fans, but he is not exactly an exponent of pretty football. Quite he opposite in fact. One of the things which hurt them year was a lack of punch going forward. Their approach work was quite good at times, as they used width well with the likes of Ashley Young (who has moved on to Manchester United), but there wasn’t enough clinical power up front. To try and solve that they have brought in Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan on a five year deal to give them a better target up front. The club have also brought in Shay Given to give some stability between the sticks as well, but the have seen the departure of Stewart Downing who moved north to Liverpool. Aston Villa are a work in progress and that has to be appreciated by fans. They picked themselves up towards the end of last season and that should be something better to build upon. It will depend on the nature of McLeish and how he approaches this. He can’t be too defensive and suck the natural talent out of this side.

Last Season: 9th
Aston Villa suffered a long season last year, looking as if they were relegation candidates at one stage, because they just couldn’t get things together. They did very well to pull themselves up to ninth in the table at the end of the day, including a triumphant season end with victory over Liverpool. Villa only suffered one defeat in their last eight matches, which points to them being a lot better this season. They need a solid start, one which gives them a platform to build on, and their young players will have had that little bit more experience under their belt. They suffered a lot of injury problems last year as well, which forced their young players into action and they grew in stature over time. Definitely need to tighten up at the back, that is the main area which needs to be addressed as they were far too leaky there.

2011/12 Aston Villa Premier League Betting Projection:
You will expect Alex McLeish to figure something out in terms of making Villa a better defensive unit, as he is known for his somewhat stifling, defensive tactics. We are uncertain as to what kind of fit that McLeish really is going to be here. He did get Birmingham relegated twice in three years, and so naturally Villa fans are going to be worried by a lack of adventure. Villa’s defence is really not that great, and McLeish will probably try and compensate for that with formation and going just one up top. That’s going to be dangerous ground to be treading, as Villa fans need to be impressed. They do have Darren Bent up front and really need to feed him. There is potential there, but certainly nothing higher than a mid table finish. Not with McLeish in charge. The Scot has tried to be adventurous in pre season friendly matches but that is going to count to nothing when backs are against the wall in the Premier where it counts.

Finishing Position: Bottom Half of Table

Relegation Odds:
20/1 at SkyBet

First Three Fixtures
August 13th: Fulham v Aston Villa
August 20th: Aston Villa v Blackburn
August 22nd: Aston Villa v Wolves

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