Aston Villa vs Burnley

Mid-table Aston Villa will be keen to register consecutive Premier League wins for only the third time this season when they take on relegation-threatened Burnley at Villa Park.

After opening his managerial tenure at Aston Villa with back-to-back Premier League triumphs, new boss Steven Gerrard has seen his side alternate between winning and losing in their last four league matches (W2, L2). Coming into this matchday, the ‘Lions’ haven’t drawn any of their six Premier League home games (W3, L3) since sharing the spoils with Brentford in August. Despite Villa’s indifferent home form, Villa Park has been a venue of entertainment of late, with five of their six Premier League home fixtures featuring over 2.5 match goals. Though they desperately need all three points here to escape from a mid-table lethargy, the hosts have only won one of their last six top-flight meetings with Burnley (D3, L2), netting under 1.5 goals four times in that spread of games.

On the other hand, Burnley have gone winless in five Premier League matches in a row (D4, L1) since a 2-1 home victory over newly-promoted Brentford in late October, drawing a blank in each of the last three on the trot. Having registered just a single triumph from their inaugural 15 Premier League fixtures this season (D8, L6), the ‘Clarets’ justifiably sit in the drop zone ahead of the kick-off. Much of Burnley’s underwhelming results have emanated from a toothless attack that has bagged a dismal average of 0.93 goals per Premier League match this term. Away from home, Sean Dyche’s men have scored just six times in eight top-flight games as they remain one of just two Premier League sides yet to win on the road this season (D4, L4). By contrast, they’ve only lost one of their last eight league visits to Aston Villa (W3, D5).