Chris Sutton praises one player in clear-cut Aston Villa vs Southampton prediction

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Aston Villa are eyeing up successive Premier League wins for the first time since September when they host strugglers Southampton.

Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Brentford stopped the rot for Unai Emery and dragged them closer to the Champions League places.

Currently four points behind Manchester City, Villa can move closer to their goal by clinching a victory over Southampton.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
8	Aston VillaAston Villa	14	6	4	4	22	23	-1	22

The Saints are having a torrid time on their top-flight return, collecting just one win and sitting bottom of the table on five points.

Their nightmares are expected to get worse on Saturday as Chris Sutton reveals his prediction for the clash.

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Chris Sutton predicts Aston Villa vs Southampton

Many are anticipating a straight-forward three points for the hosts this weekend, with Paul Merson predicting Villa to win 3-0 against Southampton.

Peter Crouch has also forecasted an easy victory for Villa over the Saints alongside Steve Sidwell, and now Sutton agrees with his fellow experts.

Per BBC Sport, Sutton predicted a 2-0 win for Emery’s side and also praised goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who played through injury against Brentford.

“Aston Villa bounced back well against Brentford in midweek, while Southampton paid the price for some calamitous goalkeeping against Chelsea, although the size of their defeat wasn’t just down to that,” he wrote.

“Credit to Villa keeper Emi Martinez for facing the Bees despite a broken finger. If he plays again here, I reckon he will keep a clean sheet.”

A clean sheet against the league’s lowest-scoring side is forecasted however, the only other time Villa have closed out their opponents in the league this term was in a goalless draw against Manchester United.

Aston Villa recent head-to-head record vs Southampton

In midweek, Villa oozed confidence for the first time in a while, and it reflected in their performance.

Emery’s troops moved the ball quicker through midfield as Boubacar Kamara was compared to Rodri while their attackers were also electric.

Morgan Rogers received comparisons to Dennis Bergkamp with the nonchalance of his delightful opener.

If the Villans play anything like they did there in this contest, it could be a handsome victory for the hosts, who have won their last three matches against the Saints without conceding.

The above table makes for great reading as Villa have only conceded once in their previous five matches – a 1-0 defeat in November 2021.

That said, regardless of recent form and the difference in league positions, Emery will still be wary of the visitors attacking threat, especially 18-year-old Tyler Dibling.