Premier League Preview 2011-12: Aston Villa

Best title odds: 500/1 - Bet365
Top 4 finish: 25/1 - Coral
Last season: 9th
Manager: Alex McLeish

Good news:

Miraculous that they finished 9th last time after flirting with relegation for months. The manager will almost certainly still be in charge at the weekend - last summer Martin O’Neill left five days before the start of the season. Darren Bent really is a predator and Shay Given and Charles N’Zogbia look like shrewd additions.

Bad news:

After realising they could get £20m for Stewart Downing, must be gutted they let Ashley Young go to Man Utd for just £17m. Have appointed a new manager who’s as popular as smallpox and just as likely to be eradicated in a few months’ time. N’Zogbia led the league for attempted dribbles last season with 301 - 82 more than his nearest rival; but ‘attempted’ isn’t the same as successful and at school that was just known as hogging the ball.

Remember when:

Villa always finished sixth and were frustrated about narrowly missing out on the Champions League spots?

Verdict:

Last season was a struggle and since then Alex McLeish has arrived, fresh from a relegation campaign with Birmingham City, and arguable the best two players have been sold. It doesn’t look good. However, Given is a top notch keeper who will earn his side valuable points with a few man-of-the-match performances and Darren Bent will surely keep banging them in at the other end. Mid-table mediocrity is probably the outcome.

Prediction: 10th