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Premier League Betting : Everton v Aston Villa

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Everton are hanging on to 5th spot in the table and the possibilty of UEFA Cup football next season. Aston Villa can go level on points today in a game which could see plenty of goals, Richard Walker previews the match and the betting.

Only Manchester United have scored more Premier League goals this season than the Villa. Only Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have conceded fewer Premier League goals this season than Everton.

So the irrepressible force meets the immovable objects at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon - and, unlike some previous Everton-Villa encounters, I think this will be a cracker. I can't oppose Aston Villa in their current form and I think [3.2] are odds to gorge on. Everton are [2.52] shots while the draw rates a [3.35] chance.

Why so strong on this? It's the mix of the in-form attackers in claret & blue and the out-of-form strikers in royal blue. Neither Yakubu or Andy Johnson have registered a goal in their last four Premiership appearances. It's just one in seven league games for the burly Nigerian - and one in 10 for the will-o-the-wisp England international forward.

The visitors from the West Midlands will shape the game's positive flavour for the Sky Sports viewers sitting down with their preferred amber nectar in one hand and the remote in the other at about four o'clock today. And it will be the Merseyside hosts who'll choose either to respond in kind - with some attacking verve - or play 4-5-1 and try to win 1-0 like they normally do.

Martin O'Neill's Villains are flying; they've won the last three 4-0, 6-0 and 5-1. And they won't be holding back in Liverpool since a win would take them level on points with Everton and into fifth place, the guaranteed UEFA Cup spot. The Toffees, meanwhile, neither seem to score or concede much more than a goal a game. Villa/Villa is a bold statement, but, at around [6.0] to back, can be covered with Draw/Villa - an [8.6] chance - for a tidy surplus when venturing into the Half Time/Full Time market.

As miserly as Everton are, I just can't see this one finishing without a few goals. Villa know they must attack to force home any chance they have of fifth spot. There's no better time to gain ground than when playing the team which has what you want. It's [2.22] for Overs in the Over/Under 2.5 goals market so don't be shy. I've got no particular score in mind but then neither have Villa these days - playing with such merry abandon. Dabble with the [14.0] available about an Any Unquoted score in the Correct Score market which takes in a four (or upwards) scored by either side.

Of course all such pontificating by me means it'll be a 1-0 special from the hosts. My head says that can't be allowed to happen by a fully-fit Villa squad who couldn't be travelling in any better heart. So I'm going to reinforce my earlier ramblings by suggesting that the Total Goals market gets an airing, with the [2.17] about 3 goals or more my idea of a value investment.
In terms of Goalscorers, yes go for Yakubu or Johnson by all means but, at [11.5] to be First Goalscorer and [5.8] in the To Score list, Villa's Ashley Young can deliver from both free-kicks or open play and is one the main reasons behind the O'Neill feel-good factor.

The First Goal Odds are interesting. You can get [5.9] to back about one as early as 0-10 minutes, however my idea of the likely timing is a little later, after the early sparring's finished. Choose odds of around [6.8] for the 21-30 minutes mark - that'll give the match time to come nicely to simmering point. All these thoughts might, of course, be construed as slightly disrespectful to a home team who've only let in seven league goals in 2008 and were on a six-match unbeaten league run at Goodison before Chelsea turned up.

That may be so. My answer is that all good things must come to an end. Over to you, Mr Carew and co.