Simon Dalton presents his prediction bet for the friendly matches.
Walsall, a team stuck in the second league for six years in a row, will face Aston Villa, a Premier League club. They already won one friendly 3-0 against a team from the Southern League Premier Division. In the last season, Walsall had both wins and losses, but they didn’t do their best to get out of the Second League. However, the team isn’t going to leave i this way.
Aston Villa will play these friendly matches to prepare for the Champions League and the Premier League. They had a bad end to last season, losing four of their last five matches, including UEFA Conference League. They managed to stay in 4th place, which means they'll play in the Champions League. Aston Villa made some good transfers, but some players who played in the Copa América and the European Championship won't play in the friendly. This gives younger and new players a chance to show themselves.
These are two teams from different levels. Even if Aston Villa have a young line-up, they would still be the favorites to win. It's hard to see Walsall getting a positive result. Aston Villa should win this match comfortably to start their pre-season training.
