The Premier League moves into Game week 36 and apart from the trophy which already sits tight with Liverpool there is still a lot to settle in the last three rounds of the season. This week, most of the top matches have been saved for tomorrow not least with the clash between Newcastle and Chelsea drawing much attention. But there is proper entertainment and good value to find today as well.
Personally, I have had quite a good streak with four out of the last five predictions proving to be winning recommendations without playing it all to safe and sticking to odds around 2x. That brings out the worst in any Wizard. So today I will raise the bar and risk a little bit to see if I am as good as I have started to believe .
My eyes got stuck on the late game, Bournemouth taking on Aston Villa. Both teams have delivered well this season, probably better than most fans and experts had expected ahead of the season. I think very few had placed the teams on the seventh respective eight position this far into the season. Well done to both sides, and for Aston Villa the hopes of securing a new European adventure is very much still alive. Sneaking up only three points behind Chelsea and Newcastle who face each other tomorrow, and only one point behind Nottingham Forest, a win today would position Villa well for the coming two rounds. I think we will see a Birmingham side putting all they have into making this happen.
This far into the season normally squads are quite often more than a bit decimated through injuries and the odd suspension. This is true for these two teams as well, but it could have been much worse still. Bournemouth will definitely have to do without Unal, Christie, Sinisterra and Outtara all down with injury, which is a set-down on their end of course. Aston Villa have only two players on the injury list, Rashford and Tielemans. Smaller number, but potentially a bigger loss in terms of capacity.
But I don’t think the injuries will determine the outcome of this game, I think it will all come down to will and fighting spirit and maybe a bit of luck. As I promised earlier in this text, today I will take on a riskier prediction and have a go at returns closer to 4x. That will be completely based on the assumption that Aston Villa has more to play for and the club as such are riding high on one their better seasons for quite some time. Of course they don’t want that to end now. Bournemouth on the other hand have definitely also proven non-believers wrong and displayed a number of impressive matches, not least turning the game against Arsenal from 1-0 into to 1-2 last week creates respect.
Conclusion: Aston Villa will do all they can and a little bit more to leave Bournemouth with three points and I think they will succeed in that. Bournemouth on the other hand are playing one of the last games of the season on their home ground facing inspired fans. They will not stop before the final whistle blows and they will want to deliver goals to their fans. I think both sides will succeed n their ambitions of doing so, but Aston Villa walks away with the win.
