Aston Villa vs Derby: The most valuable game ever
It’s Aston Villa vs Derby in the most valuable game in football on Monday. Which of these historic clubs will return to the promised land? Have a read of our preview:
The price of the modern game
Both Derby and Aston Villa have a proud history littered with honours and European football. They were, at one point in time, considered clubs at the top of the sport in Britain.
But with modern football has come the age of overreaching. During campaigns in both the top flight and Championship Aston Villa and Derby have risked everything to try and bring success in order to either return to or stay in the Premier League.
They have both been guilty spending too on salaries with Randy Lerner incurring a huge wage budget before selling the club to Recon in 2016. The Chinese group themselves were left in trouble after failing to secure promotion at the end of 2017-18 and were only saved when Egyptian billionaire Nassef Swiris took a controlling stake in the club.
Derby too have been struggling with massive wage bills but in Frank Lampard they hired a young manager who has been able to put together a competitive squad on limited resource compared to some of their rivals.
This play-off final will have big implications to both clubs going forward but gone are the days when Derby could win the top flight and a Tony Barton inspired Villa could win the European Cup.
Key players
Jack Grealish – say no more. Ok well maybe a bit more…he has been superb this season and could easily play, not only in the top flight but for England as well. There is an argument that he is the kind of player that the Three Lions have been missing and it carries some weight.
Tammy Abraham has also been a revelation under Dean Smith this season scoring 26 goals so far and making himself a real hero at a club that has been crying out for a goalscorer. He also has a good record against the Rams having scored four Championship goals (including play-offs) against Derby – he has only netted more against Nottingham Forest (5 – which is some consolation I suppose).
Derby have Mason Mount, like Tammy Abraham he is on loan from Chelsea, who has led the Rams superbly from midfield. He is creative, has vision and can clearly play in the Premier League. Being mentored by Frank Lampard will have aided his development and it would be a great end to the campaign to see them promoted.
Aston Villa v Derby betting tip
Two sides oozing quality, desperate for promotion and on the biggest stage. This game should have goals so backing both teams to score and Villa to win at odds of 18/5 is massively good value and should be on your radar. You might also note that Tammy Abraham is 6/4 to score at any time, also worth a punt.
