Swansea v Aston Villa: Swans to soar against vile Villa

The fortunes of these clubs couldn’t be more different at present.

While Swansea City are coasting along in mid-table thanks to some decent performances and a couple of excellent results over the festive period, Aston Villa have been careering towards the relegation zone at a worrying rate.

After going on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions through November and the start of December, Villa have now lost their last three Premier League games to see them slumped just above the bottom three.

However, it’s not just the fact they’ve lost against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan, it’s the manner of the defeats that will be most concerning for Villa supporters.

Their 8-0 hammering against Chelsea was the worst defeat in the club’s history, while they showed absolutely nothing against Spurs or Wigan as they succumbed to 4-0 and 3-0 defeats respectively.

The dreadful run of form has seen Lambert made the 6/4 favourite to be the next Premier League manager out of a job and, unless things turn around sharpish, that may be well worth a punt.

Things don’t look like changing against Swansea either.

The Swans have been ticking along very nicely this season and have lost just two of their last 13 matches in all competitions. They have picked up points at the Liberty against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United this term and seeing off a turgid Villa side should be no problem for the Welsh side.

They were able to rest several players for their 2-1 victory over Fulham at the weekend and, with the injured Michu looking likely to return for this clash, the refreshed Swans should coast to a win.

Backing the Swans to win at 4/6 looks like the best way of cashing in on this clash.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date