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Aston Villa will look to recover from their midweek Champions League setback when they travel to St. Mary's to take on Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday. Unai Emery's men fell to a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie.
Meanwhile, Southampton are Championship-bound and their latest outing ended in a loss to Tottenham Hotspur by a scoreline identical to that of Villa.
Even the most optimistic Villa fan would have taken the view that Villa's trip to the Parc des Princes is likely to be less about bravado and more about damage limitation. But when Morgan Rogers tapped in to secure lead for Villa in the 35th minute, it would have sent even their most cautious fans to dreamland.
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However, that trip would be cut short abruptly with Desire Doue restoring parity for PSG just four minutes later. The Parisians started the second half strongly, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finding the back of the net just four minutes into the restart.
However, what hurt Villa is Nuno Mendes' strike in the 92nd minute, leaving the Lions with a mountain to climb in the second leg at Villa Park. Mountains have been climbed before but Villa will need some wind in their sails before PSG pull up on the English shore in midweek.
Their Saturday opponents, Southampton, have had a forgettable slaughter-fest of a season. The Saints sit at the bottom of the table with just 10 points from 31 games and an already unattainable 22 points shy of safety.
There has been nothing saintly about their complacency this term and there's nothing to suggest that things wont get even bleaker in the final few gameweeks for Southampton.
Southampton vs Aston Villa Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Southampton suffered a 1-0 loss in this exact fixture in 2022-23. They last lost successive home league meetings with Villa 1995 and 1998 (a run of four consecutive defeats).
- Southampton have lost their last four Premier League matches against Aston Villa by a combined scoreline of 7-0.
- Aston Villa are on a three-game winning streak in the league right now. No other side in the competition are currently on a longer winning run.
- The Saints have conceded 25 defeats in 31 Premier League matches this term, their joint-most league losses in a single season. They lost just as many in their last top-flight campaign (2022-23).
- Southampton haven't picked up a single win in their last 10 Premier League matches on home turf, losing nine of them.
Southampton vs Aston Villa Prediction
It would be nothing short of a miracle if Southampton impedes Villa's impressive run in the league. Emery's men will be looking to regather momentum ahead of their second meeting with the Parisians and currently, they could have chosen no better hunting ground than St. Mary's.
Prediction: Southampton 1-3 Aston Villa
Southampton vs Aston Villa Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Aston Villa to win
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
