Southampton vs Aston Villa » Prediction, Watch Live + Odds & Stats 21.01.2023

Southampton and Aston Villa will collide this weekend as the Premier League returns with a full slate of fixtures.

After many years of living life as a top flight side, this is the first season in a while whereby Southampton fans are feeling a bit anxious. They’re looking good in the cup competitions, but it’ll take a while before we know whether or not the new manager is capable of keeping them up.

The Saints seemed to wake up a bit after being beaten by Nottingham Forest early in the year. They knocked Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup, Manchester City out of the League Cup, and even came from behind to beat Everton in the league.

The introduction of Unai Emery has served as a breath of fresh air for this Aston Villa squad. He’s got them playing in a manner that should eventually see them rise back into the top half but for now, ensuring they’re 100% safe from the drop is going to be the priority.

It’s pretty difficult to get a consistent read on Villa right now. They beat Tottenham on New Year’s Day, then drew with rivals Wolves. They were embarrassed and knocked out of the FA Cup by Stevenage, then won an important game against Leeds just five days later.

Armel Bella-Kotchap, Tino Livramento and Juan Larios are all injured for Southampton, with Theo Walcott and Alex McCarthy being fitness concerns.

Danny Ings is now on his way to West Ham with Matty Cash and Lucas Digne being fitness concerns. Elsewhere, Diego Carlos, John McGinn, Ludwig Augustinsson and Jed Steer are out.

Despite Southampton’s recent good fortune, we think it’ll come to an end with Aston Villa beating them on their own turf, although it’ll probably come late in the game after a PL thriller.