Aston Villa vs Preston North End Predictions

Aston Villa remain under pressure, and they face a must win encounter with Preston on Tuesday night. The Villains slipped up again at the weekend, so Steve Bruce needs a big display from his players. However, they’re not under quite as much pressure as Preston, who have fallen from seventh down to bottom of the Championship. These two were fairly close last season, with the visitors finishing a point shy of the top six, while Villa were runners-up in the play-offs. Neither side are matching that so far, but can the hosts leap up the table?

The tight nature of the Championship makes problems quickly turn to a crisis. Villa have fallen to 15th in the standings, which is a mighty slump for a side of their calibre. However, they’re still just two points off the top six. They could easily storm back in to play-off contention by the end of the weekend. Meetings with the bottom two come in the next few days, so Bruce has a crucial couple of clashes coming up. Can they start with three points at home to the basement side this week?

Preston have been in alarmingly bad form of late. they lost 3-2 at home to West Brom on Saturday, which put the Baggies six points clear of Villa, and top of the table. Defensively Preston have been dreadful, shipping three goals in each of their last four league games. That’s a concern going in to this meeting with Villa, who have started to click going forward with two players in attack. Will this be yet another loss for the bottom side?

Villa have some issues themselves, with one win in nine. However, they’ve been given the best possible chance to break that run. They are capable going forward at their own ground, and they meet a Preston side who are looking dreadful. The visitors are pointless on the road after losing all five of their away trips, the latest of which saw them beaten 3-2 by Sheffield United. They’ve shipped 10 goals in their last four away trips, having scored only two on the road all season.

With that in mind, we have to go with a home win. Villa have been presented a perfect chance to claim three points, and the away side have little going their way of late. We think the hosts are the value, so we’re backing Villa to win it, along with a 2-0 success for the Villains.