West Brom v Aston Villa: in-form Baggies will do Villa no favours

West Brom are 11/10 to take the three points as they host struggling Aston Villa in a Midlands derby that the visitors are desperate to win in order to pull away from the relegation zone.

Roy Hodgson’s side enjoyed a superb 1-0 win at their manager’s old club last time out and they have won four of their last five at the Hawthorns, another win here will see them record their highest ever Premier League points total.

The Villans find themselves in a sorry state and they hover just three points above the drop and are 5/2 to claim a vital away victory.

Villa need six points from their remaining three games to avoid their lowest Premier League points tally, but they can take heart from the fact that the Baggies have only won two of the previous 11 meetings.

A draw is available at 9/4, and may be worth some attention considering the visitors have drawn more games than anyone in the league, sharing the spoils no fewer than 15 times.

Peter Odemwingie is the host’s top scorer and he seems to enjoy derbies, after notching four goals against Wolves this term, he is the obvious choice to score first at 9/2.

Those four strikes included a hat-trick and for those thinking the Nigerian may do it again there are odds of 25/1 on the nippy frontman netting thrice.

Villa have struggled for goals since the injury to star striker Darren Bent and no one seems to have taken on the mantle of the club’s chief marksmen, but local lad Gabriel Agbonlahor looks the best option to break the deadlock at 7/1.

The Villa Park club have thrown away the most points from a winning position this season, a grand total of 20, so punters may want to get behind Hodgson’s men coming behind to take all three points at 9/1.

The home side have not conceded in their last three fixtures so backing a clean sheet at 2/1 looks a smart move here.