Boxing Day sees the Swans welcome Aston Villa to a sold-out Liberty Stadium, for a fixture which was not so long ago a regular in the Prmier League calendar.
Swansea’s run of three successive victories was brought to a shuddering halt last time out at Hull City, where they were made to pay for wasteful finishing and a disastrous last twenty minutes which resulted in a 3-2 defeat.
The Swans will add the Tiger’s defeat to this season’s list of “how did that one get away”, and one of the targets for Graham Potter in the second half of the season will be for his team to be finishing these teams off, and not to drop as many points from winning positions.
Ironically, Aston Villa will also be going into this game on the back of a 3-2 defeat after throwing away a two goal lead to Leeds United.
The result sees Villa and the Swans in 11th and 12th place respectively going into our Boxing Day clash.
Swansea City v Aston Villa Head to Head Stats
The overall head to head record between the two sides at the Vetch Field and Liberty Stadium is:
Games played: 15
Swans wins: 6
Villa wins: 7
Draws: 2
Swans Goals: 21
Owls Goals: 23
Take a look at all of the historical results between the two clubs since they first met in the FA Cup in 1924, a game which Villa won 2 nil, on our Swansea City v Aston Villa Head to Head Statistics page.
Swansea City v Aston Villa Match Predictions
It is easy for us Swans fans to be downbeat after seeing our side lose our last game, but I feel there is value in backing us to get back to winning ways against Aston Villa.
Villa have a lot of injury concerns and particularly in their defence going into this game.
Former Swan Neil Taylor’s injury leaves Villa without a recognised left back, while centre half Alex Tuanzebe has recently suffered a broken foot, which has left Villa down to the bare bones in defensive areas.
In addition to this, highly rated midfielder Jack Grealish has missed the last few games with his foot in a protective boot and is unlikely to make the trip to South Wales.
Swansea will also have had a day extra to recover for the game with Aston Villa having played Leeds on Sunday.
The Leeds game can take a lot out of the players, as Swans fans will remember, when their team put in a leggy performance in a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City earlier back in August, just four days after an impressive display against the league leaders from Yorkshire.
I do feel there will be goals with not only Villa’s defensive issues, but the fact that Swansea’s defensive solidity has disappeared in recent weeks. Which is why I’d thinking, Swansea to win and over 2.5 goals in the game has value, especially with odds of 11/4 (3.75) with Betway.
With regard to a First Goalscorer selection, I am sure that many people will fancy Tammy Abraham to get this (and at 9/2 that is a good price), but I am going to look at value for a Swansea player as I’m sure most of our readers will want to bet on a positive outcome!
Wilfried Bony returned to the side with a goal on the weekend, but having just returned from injury and also Bony felt a bit of a niggling injury at half time during the game, then I would be surprised if he started the game on Boxing Day.
I would instead look to back Bersant Celina again to score during the game, and he is available as a First Goalscorer at 11/1 (12.0) and Anytime Goalscorer at 4/1 (5.0).
I tipped Bersant for the Hull game but he didn’t start the game, so First Goalscorer bets would have been refunded.
Bersant though did come on as a substitute and score in his second successive game, so I reckon we can expect him to start in the Villa game on the back of this.
Our Boxing Day ACCA is Tottenham, Luton, Charlton, West Brom and Colchester which pays 18/1 (19.0) with MarathonBet.
Please note that bookmakers such as Paddy Power, BetVictor and Ladbrokes offer an “ACCA insurance”, which gives you a refund of a free bet for accumulators up to £10 – if only one team in your ACCA loses.
The odds for our accumulator vary between 15/1 (16.0) and 16/1 (17.0) with these bookmakers but this can be a good safety net for our readers.
Bet Recommendations
- Swansea to win and more than 2.5 goals in the game at 11/4 (3.75) with BetWay, Boyle Sports and BetBright.
- First Goalscorer – Bersant Celina at 11/1 (12.0) with BetWay.
- Anytime Goalscorer – Bersant Celina at 4/1 (5.0) with BetWay.
- Accumulator – Tottenham, Luton, Charlton, Colchester and West Brom at 18/1 (19.0) with MarathonBet.
All of the odds quoted on this page are correct at the time of writing. Our match predictions are fully researched and are provided to you in good faith, but please note that we cannot guarantee a profit on any bets you place and ask you to gamble responsibly.
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