Sky Sports pundit David Prutton is expecting a tense encounter between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park on Saturday.
The Villans are coming off the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Brentford on Wednesday, while the Baggies needed a late equaliser to draw with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Prutton feels West Brom will come out on top 2-1: “It would have hurt Dean Smith a lot to be beaten on his return to Griffin Park in midweek, but he needs to move on quickly and focus on Saturday,” he wrote on the Sky Sports website.
“West Brom got a fortunate draw against Nottingham Forest but they need to get on a winning run if they are to push up and threaten the top two. This will be a tight game but I reckon the Baggies will nick the three points.”
OPINION
The Baggies will undoubtedly be the favourites going into this game, the league table dictates it. They have been the better of the two teams this season and certainly appear to have much more firepower than Smith’s side. If Tammy Abraham doesn’t score then Villa struggle to make a dent in the opposition and West Brom will know that. They’ll be well prepared for the Chelsea loanee, and if they can mark him out of the game then they’ll be well set for victory. Darren Moore’s team have several players capable of hurting the opposition, though, even if Dwight Gayle’s ban for simulation hurts them majorly. The Englishman is a huge loss for the Baggies and Jay Rodriguez will need to have a big game now. But, having seen how poor Villa were against Brentford, you have to favour the visitors to come out on top in what will surely be a raucous atmosphere at Villa Park.