Kick-off: 1500, 04/02/2023
Stadium: Villa Park
Aston Villa have made great progress under Unai Emery and are backed to complete a hat-trick of Premier League wins by beating Leicester.
The Foxes enjoyed a welcome FA Cup success at Walsall over the weekend but have gone five top-flight fixtures without tasting victory.
We feel Evens for a home win here is a fair price and that is our initial Aston Villa vs Leicester prediction.
Aston Villa Odds
Villa followed up a 2-1 home triumph versus Leeds by prevailing 1-0 at Southampton, where Ollie Watkins struck on 77 minutes.
The Midlands outfit have crashed out of both cup competitions but can boast six wins in their last nine league games.
Emery has also made an impression in the transfer market, landing full-back Alex Moreno from Real Betis and Colombia striker Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire.
Duran scored eight goals in 22 MLS appearances for the Fire last season and has three international caps to his name.
The 19-year-old is hoping to make his mark at the club quickly and he told Villa TV: “I have all the desire in the world.
“Lots of desire to work hard, give everything to the team and win. I’m hoping I can play soon.
“I’m a player that plays with a lot of passion, who is dedicated to the team, and a player that really wants to win always.
“It’s the best league in the world and I have all the desire in the world to get on the pitch and score that first goal.”
There is no doubt that Emery has brought a feelgood factor back to Villa Park and they are closing in on a place in the top half of the table.
Villa like to start strongly in front of their own fans, scoring more times in the first 15 minutes of home matches than any other top-flight team.
Looking at the Aston Villa vs Leicester odds, they are 15/4 to net inside a quarter of an hour here.
Last Villa line-up: Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Moreno, Young, Luiz, Buendia, Ramsey, Kamara, Watkins, Bailey.
Midfielder John McGinn is fit again, while Lucas Digne is available following a shoulder issue. Forward Bertrand Traore has been recalled from his loan with Istanbul Basaksehir but will figure here and Diego Carlos remains out with an Achilles injury.
Leicester City Odds
Leicester enjoyed a much-needed double boost over the weekend, winning 1-0 at Walsall in the cup and signing Brazil Under-23 winger Tete until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old, who is contracted to Shakhtar Donetsk, has six goals and three assists in 17 Ligue 1 appearances for Lyon this term.
On Saturday, the League Two Saddlers pushed City to work hard and Youri Tielemans missed a penalty.
However, Kelechi Iheanacho’s deflected strike ended any hopes of an upset and he could get an extended run after Jamie Vardy suffered a gluteal injury in training.
Brendan Rodgers said: “He will get more game time with Vards out for a few weeks.
“He has been first class, trains virtually every day and is very rarely injured.
“He sometimes starts games not so good, sometimes he is a little hit and miss, but you know when he plays to a high level, he is a threat.”
The Foxes had previously shown encouraging signs in a 2-2 home draw with Brighton but had lost four straight league games before that.
A combination of injuries and loss of confidence is keeping them back, with no top-flight team suffering more away defeats so far.
Surprisingly, though, City have scored in nine of their 10 road games at this level.
That makes 14/5 for a home win and both teams to score worth adding to our Aston Villa vs Leicester betting tips, while 15/2 for a 2-1 scoreline is tempting.
Last Leicester EPL line-up: Ward, Faes, Amartey, Castagne, Thomas, Barnes, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Mendy, Praet, Vardy.
Winger Tete could make his debut and defender Harry Souttar is available after a hip issue but Vardy remains out along with Boubakary Soumare, James Justin, Ricardo Pereira, Ryan Bertrand and Jonny Evans.
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