Aston Villa v Leeds Betting Tips [13 January 2023]

Aston Villa host Leeds United at Villa Park in the West Midlands for matchday 20 of the English Premier League. Villa will be looking to respond after an embarrassing exit in the FA Cup last weekend which saw them squander a 1-0 home lead to League Two side Stevenage to ultimately lose 2-1 by way of two goals in the final two minutes of regulation time. The fans will surely be demanding an improved response as the club seek its fourth win in the last six Premier League matches. Manager Unai Emery has had a positive impact in his short time in charge of the Villains since taking over for Steven Gerrard at the end of October. Since then, Emery has beaten the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Brighton in the league, propelling Aston Villa up to 11th in the table on 22 total points. On the year, the home team has won six, drawn four and lost eight as we pass the halfway mark in the league campaign. 

They enter this match as the clear betting favorites according to the oddsmakers as they come up against a Leeds side on a current six match winless run across all competitive fixtures. Leeds will be hoping to snap out of a streak which has seen them draw their last three consecutive matches with the most recent finishing 0-0 against Cardiff City in the FA Cup on the weekend. The Peacocks are in the dangerous position of potentially being dragged into a relegation scrap if they are unable to pick up points in the next few fixtures. Despite their current standing of 14th-place in the league table denoting some semblance of security, Leeds only find themselves two points above the drop zone in a congested bottom half of the standings. The visitors have only managed to win one of their eight away trips in the Premier League up to this point and will have to improve on that front if they are to avoid a nervy second half of the season. 

We expect Aston Villa to come out fired up in this match and looking to make a statement following their frustrating defeat to Stevenage in the FA Cup. Unai Emery is an excellent coach and has seemingly almost instantly turned the trajectory of Villa's season around. With how much Leeds have been struggling on their travels this season, we expect them to drop points yet again on Friday. Our Aston Villa vs Leeds prediction: Aston Villa to win