Derby County vs Aston Villa Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

This game sees two of the promotion favourites meet and it will be a good test of both these side’s progress under new management. For a long time it looked as though Nigel Pearson would take charge at Villa Park this summer but he ended up back in the East Midlands and will know that promotion is the only real objective for the Rams this season.

He hasn’t made the most convincing of starts with Derby looking pretty unconvincing going forward. They’ve only scored 2 goals in 4 games this season but they were both winning goals against Grimsby in the League Cup and on Tuesday when Craig Forsyth fired in from short-range to give them all the points of Preston. That should give them a lift going into this game and they do come in as clear favourites with the bookies to win it.

Villa though look to be heading in the right direction at last. They made a poor start to life under Roberto Di Matteo but have picked up 4 points from their last 2 games and have added some proven Championship quality into their ranks with the likes of James Chester and Ross McCormack coming in. Their 3-0 win over Rotherham on Saturday was a walk in the park and they had chances to put Huddersfield out of sight on Tuesday only for the Terriers to stage a late rally and score from an absolute freak goal.

There should be a really good atmosphere at the iPro Stadium for this one and it should be a competitive game. Even compared to 2 weeks ago when Villa lost late on at Hillsborough, the Birmingham club look a much more solid unit now and there is some genuine quality in their side and right now they certainly can boast the greater goal threat. Given Derby’s struggles in that regard, they look really short at Evens to win this against a side that is certainly one of the strongest in the division and therefore the value looks to be found by backing Double Chance – Draw or Aston Villa at 5/6.