Aston Villa v Sheffield United predictions, odds and betting tips: Villa can reach the summit

Paddy Power are offering £40 in free bets on the Aston Villa v Sheffield United fixture. You can grab your free bet here. We’ve included instructions on how to grab your offer later on in this article.

Where to watch Aston Villa v Sheffield United

You can watch Aston Villa v Sheffield United in the  Premier League on Friday, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League at 8pm.

Match prediction & best bet

Aston Villa to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 6-5 bet365

You can bet on Aston Villa v Sheffield United here and get £40 in free bets with Paddy Power

Aston Villa v Sheffield United odds

Aston Villa 1-5
Sheffield United 14-1
Draw 6-1

Odds correct at time of publishing

Aston Villa v Sheffield United team news

Aston Villa
Bertrand Traore, Emi Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Robin Olsen are out while Boubacar Kamara is suspended. Lucas Digne and Douglas Luiz are available after bans but Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres are doubts.

Sheffield United
Chris Basham, John Egan, Rhian Brewster, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Tom Davies and Daniel Jebbison are out but Jack Robinson is available after a suspension.

Aston Villa v Sheffield United predictions

Aston Villa are having a fantastic season and they can give themselves hope of being the Premier League's Christmas number one by beating rock bottom Sheffield United at Villa Park.

Leaders Arsenal travel to second-placed Liverpool on Saturday, so Villa's dreams of being top of the tree on Christmas Day will come true only if they can see off the Blades and the points are shared at Anfield.

Whatever occurs over the next few days, Villa fans will be tucking into their turkey dinner with plenty of satisfaction.

This time last year their club were 12th in the Premier League and had shown only hints of the improvement which was to come under Unai Emery.

But the Villans' progress throughout 2023 has been stunning and the club have garnered 81 points from a possible 117.

Title talk has been largely dismissed by the markets with Emery's side available at 14-1 to finish at the summit.

But there is scope for Villa to kick-on over the next few months because none of their next 13 league games are against fellow top-four teams.

Concerns have been raised about the depth of Emery's squad and there was evidence of weakness at the weekend when a depleted Villa side made heavy weather of winning 2-1 at Brentford.

However, the Villans will be stronger for their battle with the Blades with first team regulars David Luiz and Lucas Digne available after suspensions.

The benefit of Luiz's return is partially offset by Boubacar Kamara's suspension but Villa will be massively boosted by returning to Villa Park, where they have racked up a club record 15 successive league wins.

Sheffield United will do their utmost to make the match competitive and they have shown signs of being harder to play against under their new manager, Chris Wilder.

They lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool and away from Chelsea but those scorelines were perfectly respectable and they came either side of a 1-0 success at home to Brentford which was warmly appreciated by the Bramall Lane faithful.

However, United's tally of eight points from 16 games is clearly relegation form and there is an obvious case for January investment if the club are serious about avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.

In the meantime Wilder will have his players well organised and highly motivated but that might not be enough to avoid a 13th league loss of the season.

Key stat

Six of Aston Villa's last seven matches have featured fewer than three goals.

Probable teams

Aston Villa (3-5-2): Martinez; Konso, Carlos, Torres; Cash, McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey, Digne; Diaby, Watkins.
Subs: Marschall, Moreno, Zaniolo, Bailey, Dendoncker, Duran, Lenglet, Iroegbunam, Tielemans.

Sheffield United (4-1-4-1): Foderingham; Bogle, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Trusty; Vinicius Souza; McAtee, Hamer, Brooks, Archer; McBurnie.
Subs: A Davies, Baldock, Benie Traore, Thomas, Norwood, Osborn, Ben Slimane, Lowe, Osula.

Inside info

Aston Villa

Star man Ollie Watkins
Top scorer Ollie Watkins
Penalty taker Douglas Luiz
Card magnet Lucas Digne/Douglas Luiz
Assist ace Ollie Watkins
Set-piece aerial threat Pau Torres

Sheffield United

Star man Gustavo Hamer
Top scorer Gustavo Hamer/Oli McBurnie/Cameron Archer
Penalty taker Oliver Norwood
Card magnet Oliver Norwood/Jack Robinson
Assist ace Oliver Norwood
Set-piece aerial threat Auston Trusty

Aston Villa v Sheffield United bet builder predictions

Under 3.5 goals
Sheffield United's last three matches have generated just five goals and there is unlikely to be a goal glut in their contest at Villa Park.

Ollie Watkins to score at any time
Ollie Watkins had been on target in four of his last six Premier League games and should increase his tally against the basement boys

John McGinn to be carded
The Aston Villa midfielder has been better behaved this season but he has been cautioned in two of his last three matches and can collect another card just in time for Christmas.

Pays out at 14-1 with Paddy Power

Grab a £40 Paddy Power Premier League free bet on Aston Villa v Sheffield United

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Paddy Power Premier League 2023 betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of this Premier League betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

• New UK & ROI customers only
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