Aston Villa vs Norwich: Bent to return to form in routine home win

Aston Villa have won their two home games this season against teams likely to be battling relegation come the end of the campaign and this bodes well that they will collect another three points from the visit of Norwich.

Villa may have found winning difficult on the whole so far and have dropped more points from winning positions than any other club in the Premier League.

However, they have held on in the fixtures they were certainly expected to win, at home to Blackburn and Wigan, and Aston Villa’s odds are 4/5 to beat Norwich.

The struggles of Alex McLeish’s team to close out games will give Norwich hope that they can leave Villa Park with a result.

Norwich are on a solid run at present with just one defeat in their last six games and are 7/2 to beat Villa.

But Villa have only lost one of their last nine at home in the league, so punters believing that they will struggle to win may be best backing the draw at 5/2.

In terms of the goalscorer markets, it is arguably best siding with the Aston Villa players, particularly as Norwich are still waiting for a first clean sheet of the season.

Darren Bent has largely been starved of service since the summer departures of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing and has ensured a slow start to the campaign in front of goal.

Bent is 7/2 in the Premier League odds to strike first and Villa have only failed to score in two of their last 13 top-flight home games.

For Norwich, Steve Morison could prove the biggest threat and he is 5/2 to score at any point within the 90 minutes.