Aston Villa v Norwich predictions: Smith to send a message to old employers

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Aston Villa v Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.

When to bet

3pm Saturday

Best bet

Both teams to score
1pt Evs Betfred

Team news

Aston Villa
Lucas Digne, Morgan Sanson and Kourtney Hause are all out. Bertrand Traore returns.

Norwich
Adam Idah, Ozan Kabak, Andrew Omobamidele and Christoph Zimmerman are all out. Lukas Rupp is available while Kenny McLean and Josh Sargent could also return.

Match preview

Steven Gerrard’s reign as Aston Villa boss has been racked by inconsistency and the man he took over from, Dean Smith, will be looking to frustrate his replacement when he visits with new side Norwich.

Villa have taken just one point from the last 15 available and have scored only twice in that run. Their signings have failed to gel into a coherent unit and another potential rebuild looms in the summer.

If Gerrard can’t get his team to click going forward against Norwich, the team with the worst defensive record in the division, that will be an extremely worrying sign.

However Norwich have been better in recent weeks and were a shade unlucky not to find the net against Newcastle last time out. The Canaries have scored in six of their last eight games and Villa’s former manager may be able to exploit any weaknesses they may have.

Key stat

Norwich have scored in six of their last eight games in all competitions

Inside info

Aston Villa

Penalty taker Danny Ings
Free-kick wizard Philippe Coutinho
Set-piece aerial threat Tyrone Mings
Card magnet Tyrone Mings

Norwich

Penalty taker Teemu Pukki
Free-kick wizard Milot Rashica
Set-piece aerial threat Grant Hanley
Card magnet Brandon Williams

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