Saturday Draw Double

Two of Saturday’s three 3pm kick-offs look like they’re too close to call. West Brom are on the up and head to an Aston Villa side who have just suffered their first league defeat of the season. Bolton and Sunderland are 17th and 18th in the table; separated only by goal difference and the dreaded dotted line. It’s a game that neither team can afford to lose, and I think neither will. Ladbrokes go 23/10 on a draw, and another stalemate in the west Midlands derby is priced at 12/5 with the same firm. Let’s take on the double at combined odds of 10/1.

One thing in our favour is that Aston Villa are something of draw specialists already with five in their first eight games. The bookies make them favourites for this encounter, and they are three points ahead of their local rivals with home advantage. But I suspect that last week’s humbling 4-1 defeat to Man City will have knocked some of the confidence out of this side. It was a reality check; the unbeaten start to the campaign had much to do with a friendly fixture list. Roberto Mancini’s side were the first of the so called ‘big six’ that Villa had faced.

Alex McLeish will be wary of a West Brom side who seem to have put a bad start to the season behind them. Last week’s 2-0 derby win over Wolves came off the back of two draws, and suddenly there’s a three match unbeaten run to be built upon. The Baggies have edged up to mid-table and it will be the home manager back under pressure if things don’t go his way on Saturday. But it’s been a long time since WBA won a league game at Villa Park - 1979 in fact - a draw here looks more than likely.

Owen Coyle will be mightily relieved to have Bolton’s 3-1 win at Wigan under his belt after a nightmare six game losing run preceded it. But it’s still been six defeats in a row at the Reebok - the third worst home run in Premier League history, so the pressure is certainly not off. Sunderland are similarly dreadful away from the Stadium of Light and their manager appears to be under even greater pressure.

But Steve Bruce can take heart from a good recent record against the Trotters. The Black Cats have done the double over Bolton two seasons running. The 2-1 defeat at the Emirates last weekend also offered plenty of positives. A similarly spirited performance this time round, with Nicklas Bendtner to return, could make all the difference. However, I just can’t see Bolton remaining pointless at the Reebok any longer; the draw looks nailed on.