Norwich v Aston Villa Tip

Every now and again a team either records a victory so stunning or suffers a defeat so humiliating that the repercussions are almost certain to carry over to the next game, and probably for a few weeks thereafter.

Back in December we witnessed Aston Villa suffer the dark side of this equation. They lost 8-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 23 December and the subsequent 4-0 and 3-0 home defeats to Spurs and Wigan respectively were almost inevitable. The devastating annihilation at Stamford Bridge had a legacy.

But now, more than four months later, Villa are set to reap the rewards of an extraordinary 6-1 win over Sunderland on Monday night. The Black Cats arrived in good form but were blown away by a virtuoso performance by the Villains which included a second half hat-trick for Christian Benteke.

Now Paul Lambert’s boys head to Carrow Road having put five points between themselves and Wigan, as well as having overtaken Newcastle on goal difference. Suddenly, they are only a single point behind their hosts who have been looking over their shoulder for a little while now.

Norwich have only won two of their last 18 Premier League fixtures - that’s basically half a season of relegation form. Villa have the bit firmly between their teeth and now look a bargain at best odds of 2/1 (PaddyPower) to make it back-to-back victories on Saturday.