Aston Villa v Everton preview: Tim Sherwood eyeing crucial win in relegation fight

FA Cup finalists Aston Villa take on Everton on Saturday knowing a win could go a long way to keeping them in the Premier League this season.

Tim Sherwood’s side are two points above the drop zone with four games to play and have won just one of their last five league games.

Meanwhile, Everton are one of the form sides in the top flight with five wins in their last six games including the 3-0 victory of Manchester United last time out.

Having been worried about a potential relegation dog fight not so long ago, Roberto Martinez’s team are now in the top half and are looking to end a frustrating season on a high.

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The reverse fixture at Goodison Park saw a comfortable win for Everton, with goals from Phil Jagielka, Romelu Lukaku and Seamus Coleman getting the better of Villa back in October.

Team news

Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is not ready to return to action. The forward has been out with a hamstring injury which also forced him to miss both the FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool and last weekend's narrow loss to Manchester City but has yet to return to training.

Right-back Alan Hutton is back in training after an ankle problem, though, while Philippe Senderos is available after a thigh injury. Defenders Ciaran Clark and Nathan Baker remain out with knee injuries.

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar sits out a third successive match because of a muscle injury.

Utility player Bryan Oviedo's season is over after he broke a metatarsal in training, joining midfielder Darron Gibson on the sidelines with a similar problem.

Defender Tony Hibbert is the other long-term absentee.

Opta facts

Gabriel Agbonlahor has scored seven goals against Everton, more than he has mustered against any other opponent in the Barclays Premier League.

Everton have taken as many points (16) in their last six Premier League games as they did in the previous 19 matches.

Aston Villa have won just one of the last 12 Premier League games against Everton (W1 D7 L4) and none of the last eight (D4 L4).

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This will become the first fixture in English league history to have been played 200 times. Of the 199 so far, Villa have won 72, Everton 74 and there have been 53 draws.

Christian Benteke has scored eight goals in his last seven Premier League outings.

Roberto Martinez’s side have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League this season (19).

Merson's prediction

Villa would have been looking at this game five weeks ago they will have said "we'll win this", because of the way Everton were playing, but they've turned a corner.

They've won five of their last six in the Premier League, although their away form is still unconvincing. 

This is a hard game for Villa and an even harder one to predict. I think it will be an open game, but I can't see Everton losing after their win over Manchester United.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (9/2 on Sky Bet)

Betting

Sky Bet can't separate these two in the betting ahead of their Premier League clash at Villa Park with both sides trading at 13/8 and the draw is available at 9/4.  Despite their perilous position, the FA Cup finalists are 1/10 to survive the drop, while in-form Everton, are 2/5 to finish in the top half of the table. The Toffees are flying at the moment and head to Villa Park brimming with confidence. They won the corresponding fixture 3-0, a 28/1 shot this time, and are unbeaten in their last three visits to Villa Park. Villa, however, are made of sterner stuff under Tim Sherwood and have averaged two goals a game for the last four and are 13/8 to extend that run. Christian Benteke has scored four goals in his last two home games and the striker is 2/1 to net in a home win and evens (1/1) to score in 90 minutes, while Kevin Mirallas is 12/5 to score for the third match running for the Toffees.