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It’s Villa’s last stand! Or something like that. Norwich City in town.
What to know about Villa
Well, Libor Kozák has done his ankle, so Villa have Gabby Agbonlahor and Gabby Agbonlahor leading the line Saturday against Norwich. That’s… not fun.
I can’t wait until this nightmare of a season is over.
This is, effectively, Villa’s last chance at survival. A loss and the Claret and Blues sit 13 points back with 13 to play. That’s damn near insurmountable. Even with a draw, the gap stays no closer than 10 and considering Rémi Garde’s side has made up just one point on 17th in the last four outings, that’s not happening either.
I mean, neither is making up seven points with 13 to play, but that’s at least attainable in a way that makes you have a little belief.
What I’m saying: Villa would do all of us a favour by losing Saturday so we can be done with this.
What to know about Norwich City
They have super nice kits this year — always do given their colors — that look really good against the claret and blue of Aston Villa.
This Norwich side reminds me a lot of their side that went down two years ago, which probably isn’t too far off-base given how many players are back from that team. They’ve floated above the drop for most of the year like they did a couple years back and I just can’t shake the feeling they’re going to find themselves dropping into the bottom three in the last few matchdays of the campaign.
Read: I think one of Newcastle United or Sunderland will actually start playing like they should be able to. Probably the former.
Steven Naismith, who joined from Everton after being a reported Villa target, was the Canaries’ big signing over the window, so expect him to bag four goals against Villa and never score again for Norwich. Or something like that.
Remember when Villa was trying to pry Wes Hoolahan away from Norwich two years ago? That was fun. He’s still there.
The odds
Bovada: Villa 27/20, Norwich 11/5, Draw 43/20
Paddy Power: Villa 6/4, Norwich 19/10, Draw 9/4
SkyBet: Villa 13/10, Norwich 11/5, Draw 11/5
The prediction
Lay. That. Money.
Villa’s done for. A second successive 2-0 defeat will just about confirm Villa’s relegation.