Southampton v Aston Villa preview: Saints look to snap winless streak

Southampton will be looking for a first win in over a month when they welcome Aston Villa to St Mary's on Saturday.

Saints have slipped down to seventh in the Premier League table after losing three of their last four matches, including back-to-back defeats to Sunderland and Leicester.

They are still in contention to qualify for a Europa League place but are in danger of being pipped at the line by Swansea, who are just a point behind.

A win for Aston Villa at St Mary's would guarantee their Premier League survival after an impressive run of recent results.

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Tim Sherwood's side have won three of their last four matches to climb away from the relegation zone and held Saints to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park in November.

Team news

Nathan Baker is back in training for Villa after a knee injury while Gary Gardner and Callum Robinson are available after returning from loan spells.

Ciaran Clark (knee) remains sidelined while Libor Kozak has suffered a back problem in his recovery from the broken leg he suffered in January 2014.

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Southampton welcome James Ward-Prowse back from suspension but Morgan Schneiderlin (knee) is still out along with Dusan Tadic and Jay Rodriguez.

Opta stats

Southampton have won just one of their six previous Premier League matches against Aston Villa at St Mary's, with both sides scoring in each clash (D2 L3).

Gabriel Agbonlahor has had a hand in three goals in his last three Premier League appearances against Southampton (two goals, one assist).

Tim Sherwood has won 54.5% of his first 33 Premier League games as a manager; only one Englishman has a better win rate from his first 33 PL matches - John Gregory (63.6%).

Saints have shipped exactly two goals in each of their last four games (D1 L3); they had conceded just eight in the previous 14. 

Since Sherwood's first Premier League game in charge of Villa, Christian Benteke (10) has scored more goals than any other player and from just 13 shots on target.

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Tom Cleverley has netted three in his last three Premier League games after failing to score in his last 37 top-tier appearances before that.

Merson's prediction

I think this will be a hard game for Villa. I know Southampton are having a bit of a wobble at the moment, but I am going to go for them to win this one 2-1, even though that goes against the form book.

Both sides still technically have things to play for this season, but Villa may just have one eye on the FA Cup final now and so I am going to go for Southampton here.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)

Betting

Southampton are Sky Bet's 4/5 favourites to beat in-form Aston Villa (7/2) despite failing to win any of their last four Premier League games. Saints are still 2/1 to secure a top-six finish, although both Liverpool and Spurs are both shorter prices to pip the south coast club.

Villa, in contrast, have won three of their last four under Tim Sherwood are look assured of top flight survival. The last two meetings between the sides have ended in draws, a 5/2 shot on Saturday, but Villa did spring a surprise at St Mary's two years ago winning 3-2 and Sky Bet are offering odds of 50/1 for a repeat.

Christian Benteke is 13/2 to continue his fine run for Villa with the opening goal, while Graziano Pelle and Shane Long are both 13/8 to net in a win for the hosts.