Villa have struggled against Crystal Palace in recent head-to-head meetings, so they will look to get one over their bogey opponent when these sides face off on Wednesday night. The Eagles have prevailed in each of their last four encounters against Unai Emery’s men in south London, by an aggregate score of 15-2. 

However, Palace have lost key players like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in recent seasons - they look a shadow of their former selves in the final third, and it’s unlikely they will be as effective here. Oliver Glasner’s men have failed to win any of their last six home matches across all competitions, during which they have failed to score in three of those matches. 

Meanwhile, Villa have won 12 of their last 13 matches, with the one defeat coming against league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates. They have looked dangerous in the final third, with Ollie Watkins finding some form.

The Englishman has scored four goals in his last three appearances, meaning Villa look like a real force to be reckoned with in the final third. Since losing 2-0 against Liverpool at Anfield at the start of November, the Villains have scored multiple goals in 11 of their 13 matches across all competitions, while also drawing an average of 3.64 saves per game from the opposition keeper. 

Dean Henderson should expect a fair bit of work to get through on Wednesday night, but he has been up for the challenge this season so far. The Palace man is averaging 2.4 saves per game at Selhurst Park in the league this season, and he racked up four saves in his last home outing against Fulham. They were crucial ones, too. He denied Timothy Castagne late on with an excellent reaction save, to ensure the Eagles at least left with a point. 

Unai Emery has made a small tactical tweak to his side in recent weeks, with Morgan Rogers featuring centrally, and Emi Buendia out wide. Because of that, Rogers has seen an uptick in attacking involvement, landing this bet in each of his last three starts. That includes tough matchups against both Arsenal and Chelsea on the road. The 23-year-old has had an impressive season so far, with a total of seven goals to his name - four of which came in December. 

Rogers has racked up 18 shots in his last five league games alone, which is more than any other Villa player, and he now draws an excellent matchup against Palace. The Eagles conceded 17 shots against Fulham in their last home outing, meaning they are now averaging 11.4 shots conceded per game at home this season. They have been far from watertight at the back in recent games, and Villa should be able to carve out some good chances. 

Will Hughes shook off any injury doubts to start and play the full 90 against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon - his fitness is important with Daichi Kamada out injured. Featuring alongside Adam Wharton, Hughes is tasked with being a lot more aggressive in his duels, and he certainly isn’t one to shy away from a strong tackle. He is averaging 1.43 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season and already has four bookings to his name despite only starting nine matches. 

Hughes draws an excellent matchup on Wednesday night, against an Aston Villa side who have drawn the most fouls of any Premier League team this campaign. Unai Emery’s men have been fouled an average of 14.9 times per game this season, with a lot of those concentrated in midfield. Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans have been the main reason why Aston Villa have been so adept at drawing free kicks, and they could all find duels against Hughes here.