Sat 9 Nov 2013 15:00 – Aston Villa v Cardiff (Villa Park)

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Aston Villa take on Cardiff City at Villa Park this weekend and the home side will be looking for only their second home win of the season having lost four out of five so far. Their only previous victory was the unlikely 3-2 win over title hopefuls Manchester City. Cardiff’s away form is not much better having won just one out of five but they have also drawn two of those games. Cardiff will also be on a high after their narrow victory in the Welsh derby last week.

Villa have one of the longest injury lists in the league but they are expecting both Weimann and Agbonlahor to return this week subject to fitness tests. Meanwhile, Cardiff have a full and healthy squad to choose from.

Villa have conceded 2 goals in four of their five home games but scored an average of just 0.8. Cardiff concede an average of 1.6 on the road and also score an average of just 0.8. So while they both struggle to score, they are also both likely to concede. They also have similar corner statistics, winning an average of 5.2 per game but Villa average 6 against and Cardiff give away an average of 8. There is a good chance of over 10.5 corners and under 2.5 goals in this game.

Cardiff will be hoping to carry the momentum of their victory over Swansea into this game but apart from that result both these teams have been in poor form recently. There is just one point between them in the table and little to separate them statistically. Both teams can be expected to concede a goal but there is no clear favourite to win and a low score draw is the most likely outcome.

Match prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Cardiff

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