Aston Villa finally snapped its seven-game losing streak in the league with a thrilling victory Tuesday over West Bromwich Albion. They will look to sustain the momentum of their huge win this coming Saturday when they square off with the Baggies again, this time in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
Read on for a complete breakdown of this last-eight matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the Champions League second leg showdown between Manchester City and Barcelona here.
[sc:Soccer ]Aston Villa vs. West Bromwich Albion Betting Preview
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham
When: Saturday, March 7, 12:30 PM ET
Line: West Bromwich Albion at Aston Villa – view all FA Cup lines
What’s At Stake
[sc:Soccer240banner ]The winner of this match books a place in the semifinals of the FA Cup and moves to within two victories of lifting the coveted trophy at Wembley Stadium on May 30. If the match ends in a draw, however, the two sides will square off once again in a replay this time at the Hawthorns.
Betting on Aston Villa
“We are still alive.”
That was the emphatic statement of Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood after his side recorded a heart-stopping 2-1 win over West Brom in the English Premier League Monday. It was Aston Villa’s first Premier League win in 13 games as they moved three points clear of the dreaded relegation zone.
Christian Benteke was the hero for Aston Villa as he drilled home the winning penalty in injury time that gave his side all three points. Relief was etched on the face of new boss Sherwood who opened his managerial stint with Villa with two quick defeats to Stoke City and Newcastle.
The win will bring a much-needed boost to Aston Villa’s campaign as they now turn their attention to the FA Cup. Interestingly, their next opponents in this competition are West Bromwich Albion once again.
The good news for Sherwood heading into this cup tie is that Gabriel Agbonlahor has found his scoring boots once again. Agbonlahor ended his run of 14 Premier League games without scoring with a crucial first-half goal against West Brom.
It’s quite astonishing that even with that long barren run, Agbonlahor still leads the team in scoring with four goals this season. Aston Villa’s main problem this season has been their lack of offensive production, scoring just 15 goals in the league this campaign.
They will need Agbonlahor to go on a major scoring run if they are to survive the relegation battle and advance further in soccer’s oldest cup competition. Aston Villa have a much better scoring ratio in the FA Cup this season, scoring a total of five goals in three matches.
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Betting on West Bromwich Albion
West Brom saw their five-game unbeaten run in all competitions end on Tuesday with a deflating one-goal defeat to Aston Villa. Goalkeeper Ben Foster conceded a penalty in the dying seconds that Christian Benteke duly converted to give Aston Villa the all-important win and sent West Brom to its first league defeat in more than a month.
The Baggies remain stuck in 13th place in the league with 30 points, eight points clear of the relegation zone. They will need to regain their focus quickly though as they have a return engagement with Aston Villa this coming weekend, this time in the FA Cup.
The Baggies will take heart in the fact that they have dominated the competition in the FA Cup this season. Through three cup matches, West Brom have outscored their opponents, 13-2. They were simply sensational in their fifth-round tie with Premier League side West Ham, shutting them out 4-0.
Record signing Brown Ideye scored twice in that game to seal West Brom’s first quarterfinal appearance in the FA Cup in seven years. For them to advance further in the tournament, though, they will need to improve on their atrocious showing against Aston Villa the last time out.
West Brom only controlled a measly 42 percent of the possession and that resulted in them having only three shots on goal, only one of which was on target. Compare that to Aston Villa who had a total of 16 shots with eight of those right on target. In fact, Aston Villa had more shots on target in that match than any other Premier League game since May 2014.
Tony Pulis’ men can ill afford to repeat that same mistake again this coming Saturday. They will need to take control of the midfield and create enough chances for Saido Berahino and Ideye. The striking duo leads the Baggies in scoring this season with 18 and 6 goals, respectively.
Writer’s Prediction
Aston Villa advance to the semifinal round with a nervy 1-0 win.
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