Aston Villa vs Bournemouth Prediction and Betting Tips: Villains to build on European success

Aston Villa will be looking to boost their Champions League hopes when they welcome Bournemouth to Villa Park for Premier League action at 3pm on Sunday, April 21st.

The Villans are fourth in the top flight, three points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham, and another home victory would move Unai Emery's side a step closer to qualification for Europe's elite competition.

Bournemouth's own European aspirations have been dented in recent weeks, with just one point from the last six on offer seeing the club slip eight points adrift of Manchester United in seventh.

These two played out an entertaining 2-2 in December's reverse victory at the Vitality Stadium, where Ollie Watkins scored a last-gasp equaliser to ensure Villa went back to the West Midlands with a share of the spoils.

The Cherries have had the better of recent meetings, winning four of the last six, but they will be without Luis Sinisterra, Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Fredericks and Chris Mepham for Sunday's clash.

Villa are missing key midfielder Douglas Luiz, who serves the final match of his two-game ban, while Jacob Ramsey, Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia and Alex Moreno are injured.

Villa head into this contest on the back of a penalty shootout victory over Lille in the Europa Conference League, a result that booked their place in the semi-finals and extended their unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions.

The Villans have been free-flowing going forward, scoring 68 goals in the Premier League, but their defence has been a little shaky with just one clean sheet recorded from their last five matches.

While Emery's troops should come out on top, their backline looks set to be breached by a Bournemouth side who have failed to score in just one of their 17 away fixtures this season.

However, the Cherries have struggled to keep sides at bay on their travels, conceding 31 goals from 15 matches, and they will find it difficult to keep out a potent Villa outfit.

This could turn into a feisty affair and the chances of bookings being dished out seem high, with Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi and Villa's Lucas Digne two prime candidates to go into the referee's notebook.

Argentina international Senesi received his ninth yellow of the campaign last time out, his fifth caution in his last eight appearances, and he could find it difficult against the likes of Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby.

Joining Senesi in the book could be Villa left-back Digne, who landed his second Europa Conference League booking of the season in Thursday's clash against Lille.

The 30-year-old Frenchman has also been cautioned six times in the Premier League – just four players have been booked more for Villa – and he may fall foul of the official again on Sunday.

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