Southampton v Aston Villa result predicted by supercomputer
Aston Villa’s attention will return to the Premier League when they visit Southampton on Saturday.
Unai Emery’s men enjoyed a seven-game winning streak across all competitions before being beaten 3-1 by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
Villa went 1-0 up in the first half thanks to Morgan Rogers’ goal, but PSG soon found their equaliser through Desire Doue.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes both scored for Luis Enrique’s men in the second half to ensure that Emery’s men have somewhat of a mountain to climb at Villa Park on 15 April.
Villa set to beat Southampton
Southampton have endured a woeful Premier League campaign, and their relegation back to the Championship was confirmed via last week’s defeat at Tottenham.
| Opponent | Result |
| Preston (A) | 0-3 W |
| Brighton (A) | 0-3 W |
| Nottingham Forest (H) | 2-1 W |
| PSG (A) | 3-1 L |
Therefore, the Villa faithful will not be surprised that Opta’s supercomputer has predicted that Emery’s men have a 57.9 per cent chance of beating the Saints.
The supercomputer has indicated that Southampton have a mere 19.8 per cent probability of beating Villa, whereas the chances of a draw stand at 22.2 per cent.
Emery should rest his key players against Southampton
Villa’s visit to Southampton arrives just three days before the crucial second leg of their quarter-final tie with PSG.
With such a huge game against Enrique’s men in mind, Emery should field a rotated Villa line-up against Southampton.
Emery indicated how important continued progress in the Champions League is to him when he made eight changes to his starting 11 against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, just four days before the first leg of the quarter-final.
The Villa boss should make a similar number of changes this weekend when his side go toe-to-toe with an already relegated Southampton outfit.
The Saints have not won since their 2-1 win over fellow bottom-three side Ipswich on 1 February, so Villa should be able to beat the South Coast outfit even if Emery shuffles his pack.