Preston North End vs Aston Villa tips

Aston Villa made a poor start to the season but have made some progress under new manager Dean Smith. They are ninth in the Championship but only three points off the top six after beating Swansea City 1-0 away on Boxing Day. Villa could have been closer because they led league leaders Leeds United 2-0 at home at the weekend before an amazing comeback saw them lose 3-2. Only one of their last nine league games has been lost and on their travels have three wins in the last four. That's a big improvement as previously they'd gone seven without a win under Steve Bruce.
Preston North End made an even worse start to the season than Villa and were in the bottom three with only eight points from their first 11 fixtures including a 3-3 draw at Aston Villa. They seemed to have turned their season around a nine game unbeaten run but have been slipping again of late. Three of their last five league games have ended in defeat and a six game unbeaten run at home ended with a 2-1 defeat by Hull City on Boxing Day. This has the potential to be a thriller, go for over 2.5 goals to be scored.

Aston villa win