- Aston Villa U21 have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five Premier League 2 matches, including a 3-2 away win over Leicester City Academy.
- Blackburn Rovers U21 have lost all of their last five games, losing their two most recent home fixtures against Crystal Palace Academy (1-2) and West Ham United Academy (2-4).
- Aston Villa U21 have lost only once in eight away games in the Premier League 2, taking four wins, three draws and averaging just 1.12 goals conceded per game on the road.
Gombau’s Villans in the groove
Aston Villa U21 are the slight favourites for Monday’s Premier League 2 clash with Blackburn Rovers U21, being available at 131/100, while the hosts are a bit too short at 63/50. The Villans have been in more mixed form than Rovers recently, but their away results have been solid, particularly in the last couple of games.
Villans boss Josep Gombau has brought the same sort of structured, possession-based philosophy to the young Villans as he has done with his senior side and many of the players have responded well to the style of play that is similar to the first team. It’s a set-up that should suit the talented Omari Kellyman in attack, who is a good fit for the number 10 role, while striker Rory Wilson is always a threat in behind the opposition defence.
Villa have gone unbeaten in their last two away games - a draw and the 3-2 victory over Leicester City Academy - and should come into this match fresh and ready to play the sort of patient, positional build-up football that creates overloads in the wide areas and gets enough goals to win matches.
Rovers look to break the cycle with a win
Rovers boss Mike Sheron has a completely different set of tools to work with at Blackburn and his team are all about quick transitions and direct play, trying to catch opposition off guard. Rovers press well and can be dangerous when they get the ball down the field, but they are not in good form.
Rovers have lost all five of their most recent games, including the last two at home, where they have been outplayed by Crystal Palace Academy and West Ham United Academy. They sit 29th in the table with only 11 points from 17 games, compared to Villa’s 16th place with 25 points.
Villans should edge a classic
The postponement of this fixture earlier in the season may have been a good thing as the respective squad freshness will be an unknown factor, but Villa have more recent momentum and a much better away record in the Premier League 2. Gombau’s tactical nous should see the Villans control this fixture and their ability to control the ball in the midfield areas should see them edge a game with Blackburn that could feature a few goals.
Backing both teams to score is favourite at 3/10 and that seems like the right play here. Both teams have goals in them and will look to attack in waves, but Rovers cannot afford to drop points if they are to climb out of the relegation zone and Villa are capable of edging this one by a goal if they get on a scoring run.
