Friday, at 19:45, Aston Villa will receive a visit to Bolton Wanderers in a match for the 16th Championship. The match will take place at the “Villa Park” stadium in Birmingham.
With a batch that looks more than decent on the paper and through which Villa was aiming for promotion in the Premier League this season, the situation tends to become one more than sensitive; rather, disastrous. Dean Smith’s arrival on the bench after Steve Bruce’s dismissal had only a momentary impact. Villa forced himself into the next match, against Swansea, following losing the two following, 1-2 against Norwich, 0-1 against QPR. Fortunately, at least at first glance, Bolton appears to be the ideal opponent against which Aston Villa should be able to get back on his feet. Deploying in a deplorable form, much weaker than Villa, Bolton has only one success in the last 11 stages of the championship and is at an annoyance just four laps away from the relegable places.
Only two direct confrontations took place between the two teams in recent history, even in the Championship last season. Then the two combatants split their points, Villa winning 1-0 home, while the screenplay took place in the mirror half a year later in Bolton.
Given the circumstances of this game, we expect a solid evolution of the hosts. Bolton is one of the weakest formats in this Championship season, and although Villa suffers in their turn, we believe that Dean Smith’s students will be able to get through a more than just an opponent.
PREDICTION: Aston Villa to win @ 1.47
