Aston Villa v Stevenage Betting Tips [8 January 2023]

The FA Cup sees League Two side Stevenage looking to cause a shock upset against Premier League side Aston Villa when the two clash at Villa Park for this third round matchup. The world’s oldest national football competition is famous for its giant-slaying upsets but will a team in the fourth tier of English football be able to down an upward trending top division side? 

The appointment of former Arsenal and Villarreal boss Unai Emery looks to have been a shrewd move following the departure of Steven Gerrard. The 52-year-old Spainard has won three of his five Premier League matches in charge so far and has lifted the Villains to 11th in the standings. Villa have one win, one draw and one defeat since returning from the World Cup break with their latest fixture ending in a 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton. Overall, the mood around the team must be positive as Emery already has victories against Manchester United and Tottenham in his short time in charge so far. The starting 11 will likely be rotated somewhat for this match with Aston Villa’s next fixture against Leeds occurring in five days time. 

They face off against League Two side Stevenage who have been on an uptick of form in recent weeks. The Boro have won back-to-back matches following their 1-0 home victory over Gillingham and are now on a run of only one loss in their last 10 matches across all competitions. Stevenage sit second in League Two and are just two points behind leaders Leyton Orient as they seek promotion into England’s third tier of football. Their title challenge has been built upon their dominant home form which has seen them win 11 of their 13 league encounters. Away from home has been a different story however, as Stevenage have managed only four wins from their 11 outings. Their goal scoring form sees a significant drop off as well as the visiting side, netting only 11 goals compared to 24 at home in League Two so far this season.

Emery has a deep squad at his disposal and Aston Villa should have little trouble in brushing aside an in-form Stevenage team. The visitors have trended heavily towards unders this season when playing as the visiting team with only one of their matches seeing four or more goals scored. They will likely struggle to get on the scoresheet here, making Aston Villa to win to nil another solid play. Our Aston Villa vs Stevenage prediction: Aston Villa win + under 3.5 goals