Aston Villa take on the visitors Sheffield United in the round 18 match of English Premier League. The match will be played on Friday, December 22nd at Villa Park (Birmingham).
In late 2022, Aston Villa acquired a new coach, Unai Emery. To bring the Spanish manager back to English football, they showed the door to Steven Gerrard, who had fulfilled the savior role in the previous season. The young Englishman couldn't realize the considerable ambitions, which are traditionally present in Birmingham. Emery, his successor, managed to lead the team to a seventh-place finish last season. While it meant a return to European competitions, the English side only made it to the Conference League, starting from the summer qualification. However, they had the motivation and quality to progress to the playoffs. Despite the increased workload at home, progress accelerated, and they convincingly defeated Manchester City and Arsenal 1-0 each in December, securing a place in the top three of the table. Notably, the match against Brentford was just as challenging, with a 2-1 victory closer to the end.
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Sheffield United hopes to climb from the bottom of the table with a new-old manager. Under Hekkingbottom, the Blades managed to escape from the Championship on their second attempt. A year earlier, they lost in the playoffs, but this spring, they secured direct promotion with a 2nd-place finish. However, the enthusiasm around Paul quickly faded. In 14 matches, there was only one victory over Wolverhampton and a couple of draws, combined with elimination from the League Cup by the modest Lincoln City. The breaking point was a 0-5 defeat to Burnley, their colleagues from the Championship and current direct competitor. Fortunately, Wilder agreed to return, the former player and manager under whom the team previously climbed to the Premier League, looking quite promising in the first year in the top flight, albeit ending with a subsequent failure (and a resignation). After a 0-2 loss in the first match against Liverpool (though they held on until the 90+ minute), they finally secured a win in the match against Brentford, with a single goal from McBurnie. They tried to oppose Chelsea, and not without hope, but lost 0-2.
Sheffield United have been stronger several times, gaining 4 points in the Championship in 2018/2019, and in the Premier League in 2019/2020. Even after their relegation, they exchanged 1-0 victories. A contender for the first place against one of the underdogs – there is no reason to expect intrigue and competition. The hosts will win with a handicap of -1.5 goals.
Prediction for the match: Aston Villa to win with -1.5 handicap.
