Tim Sherwood must have believed that his Aston Villa side were worth a draw last weekend against Man City. Carlos Sánchez struck from midfield after 85 minutes, levelling the score 2-2 with the end in close sight. But it was not to be. Fernandinho scored the winner for Man City in the 88th minute.
Aston Villa have more belief since Tim Sherwood took over from Paul Lambert as boss of the Villains. That much is obvious from their improved league form, not to mention their upcoming appearance against Arsenal in the FA Cup final.
Everton displayed similar heroics in beating Man Utd 3-0 on Sunday. Despite giving up 65% of possession to Man Utd, they managed to put away their chances and demoralize the Reds.
Roberto Martínez has done fantastically to revive Everton. The Toffees have now won five of their last five league games, claiming 16 points out of 18. They are now into 10th and closing rapidly on Stoke City in ninth.
Expectations
Both of these sides want to perform positively in attack, and each has the players needed to score goals. Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke has officially put the first half of the season behind him. Tim Sherwood has inspired the Belgian hit-man to return an impressive return of eight goals in seven league games.
Romelu Lukaku has been a little off since his £27 million summer transfer to Everton. The young Belgian striker appears set to fall below his 15 league goals from last season. However, fellow countryman Kevin Mirallas can make up for Lukaku. Mirallas scored the third goal in the Man Utd win.
Everton have won four and drawn two of the last six league games between these two sides. In fact, Everton have won the last three in a row. Aston Villa should be able to improve and avoid a loss here. The misfiring Lukaku cannot be carried every game.
Match Tips
Tip one: Aston Villa or draw @ 1.50
Tip two: Both teams to score @ 1.83
Picking an outright result will be tough here, so backing Aston Villa in double chance will be safer.