Clearly it is likely that Villa will win this game and extend their home win streak to 15 games. The question is by how many will they win?

Villa have scored in every home game since October last year. Just looking at their home games this Premier League campaign, they have scored an impressive average of 3.13 goals per game, beating teams such as Arsenal and City. Perhaps most impressive however, was their 6-1 victory over Brighton that saw Ollie Watkins net himself a hat trick.

Given this strong record, Sheffield United are likely to be in for a rough evening. Not only have The Blades conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season, but they have also conceded the most shots and expected goals.

Away from home, they have conceded an average of 2.75 goals this season, scoring just 0.5. Further, they have let an average of 17.63 shots be taken against them (6.88 shots on target). At the start of December, they conceded five goals to Burnley, who have had a poor season so far; currently sitting on the same points as Sheffield.

This line of research opens up possibilities in the handicap markets. For those unfamiliar, these markets need a team to win by a certain amount of goals for the selection to land. For example, Villa (-2.0) effectively means the hosts start two goals down, and therefore need to win by three or more for the bet to win.

Predictions:

🏆 Aston Villa to win @ 1.18

🏆 Aston Villa (-1 handicap) @ 1.57

🏆 Aston Villa (-2 handicap) @ 2.63

Watkins has undoubtedly been Villa’s main attacking threat this season. He has seen 15 goal contributions (9G, 6A) in the Premier League so far, ranking him third just behind Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland. This impressive record has seen him average 3.03 shots and 1.27 shots on target per match.

He is likely to be given plenty of chances against Sheffield United’s weak defence, with the bookies giving him an implied probability to score of 57.9%.

Two other likely candidates to find their names on the scoresheet are Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey. Both have been solid for Villa so far, scoring three and five goals respectively. Further, both players have been averaging a decent number of attempts at goal, with Diaby notching 2.24 shots & 0.88 shots on target (both per 90), whilst Bailey has racked up an impressive 3.04 shots and 1.16 shots on target per 90.

Predictions:

🥅 Ollie Watkins to score anytime @ 1.73

🥅 Moussa Diaby to score anytime @ 2.30

🥅 Leon Bailey to score anytime @ 2.50

In the Premier League this season, The Blades have both taken the lowest average corners (3.35) and conceded the highest average corners (7.00). This stems from their low average possession on the ball, 36.6%, meaning they are often forced to sit deep.

Sheffield United also concede lots of shots on target, the most in the league, averaging 7.18. This boosts the amount of saves their goalkeeper makes to 4.76, and therefore increases the likelihood of them conceding corners.

Villa have taken 6.06 corners per game this season. They are in good corner-winning form too, taking 12 corners against Brentford in their last game. Against the other two teams currently in a relegation spot (Luton and Burnley), The Villains took at least six corners.

Predictions:

🚩 Over 5.5 Aston Villa corners @ 1.36

🚩 Over 6.5 Aston Villa corners @ 1.65