Aston Villa v Leicester betting tips: Maddison the man in midlands derby
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Villa v Leicester betting tips and odds
Steven Gerrard tasted defeat during the week for the first time since being appointed Villa manager and he will experience his first midlands derby this weekend with the visit of Leicester.
Villa pushed champions Manchester City all the way in the second half on Wednesday and but for an excellent save by Ederson could have walked off with a point instead of a 2-1 defeat.
Gerrard’s side are 27/20 favourites to get back to winning ways, but it promises to be a close encounter on Sunday as we look at some Villa v Leicester betting tips from the available markets.
Match Odds
Gerrard has made an encouraging start as Villa manager and had teenage substitute Carney Chukwuemeka kept his composure in a one-on-one situation, the Liverpool legend could have been looking at an unbeaten start.
The former Rangers boss said: “In terms of the second half I thought we were outstanding. We scared City because we were so close to taking something from the game. It was a terrific reaction from the players and I told them not to leave this stadium with their heads down.”
Leicester were more successful in their bid for a point on the same night, twice coming back from a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw at Southampton.
"The reaction was fantastic from the players."
The thoughts of Steven Gerrard following #AVLMCI. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/YALe5LNgif
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 1, 2021
That was their third 2-2 draw of the season which can be backed at 12/1, a point apiece is 12/5 and it’s 16/5 on goals thrown into the equation in our Villa v Leicester betting tips.
This match looks a tough one to call, so both teams to score, over 2.5 goals and either team to win looks an interesting prospect at 6/4.
The both teams to score and over 2.5 goals market is available at 23/20, while we go Leicester HT/Draw FT at 14/1 bearing in mind Villa have the worst first-half record in the Premier League (W2 D5 L7), but are one of the top-five performers after the break (W6 D5 L3).
Villa scored twice against Brighton and Crystal Palace, and were unlucky not to do the same against City, so we go 6/5 on them bagging at least two goals on Sunday, with the visitors 31/20 in the same market.
Talking Tactics
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers kept faith with the same team and 4-2-3-1 formation that had beaten Watford 4-2, but may decide to freshen things up at the weekend.
Boubakary Soumare was replaced at half-time by academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who brought some much-needed dynamism to the City side.
"It was physically very tough." 💪
Jonny Evans reported back after the draw in #SouLei. pic.twitter.com/mAvNVEW4SE
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 2, 2021
Villa winger Leon Bailey has had an injury-hit start to his Villa career and is likely to miss a couple of games with a thigh problem which forced him to be substituted after half an hour.
Matt Targett went off with a head injury midway through the second half but is expected to be available in a 4-3-3 system.
Goalscorer Odds
Vardy dominates the first goalscorer market at 10/3 and the striker is 5/4 to score any time despite blowing a great chance to secure the points at Southampton.
James Maddison has scored in three successive games for Leicester and is 7/2 to make it four or 9/1 to break the deadlock, while Harvey Barnes, denied by Alex McCarthy’s superb save at St Mary’s, is 17/2 and 10/3 in the two options.
Ollie Watkins scored one having been denied by Ruben Dias’ last-ditch tackle in the first half, so he looks a decent prospect at 5/1 and 15/8.
Midfielder John McGinn has been given licence to shoot by Gerrard and his odds of 7/1 and 13/5 have their merits in our Villa v Leicester betting tips.
Match Info
Where: Villa Park
When: 16:30, Sunday 5th December
How to watch: Sky Sports
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
