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Premiership Betting preview Sunday 20th April

Aston Villa v Birmingham

The Sunday lunchtime kickoff sees a local derby as Aston Villa host Birmingham City. Depending on the result of Boton’s match against Arsenal on Saturday, Alex McLeish’s side could find themselves in the bottom three at the start of this match, so local bragging rights will take a back seat to crucial points as Birmingham battle to avoid relegation to the Championship at the first attempt.

Villa are in fine form at the moment, chasing three consecutive wins, and having scored ten goals in their last two games. Martin O’Neill’s side also won the reverse fixture at St Andrews 2-1, thanks to a late Gabriel Agbonlahor goal. The referee for the midlands Derby is Mark Clattenburg.

Match Odds:

Aston Villa - 5/6 (totesport)

Draw - 5/2 (Stan James)

Birmingham City - 22/5 (VC Bet)

Newcastle United v Sunderland

There’s another local derby on Teeside as Newcastle United host Sunderland (Live on Sky Sports 1). Both sides have picked up form in recent weeks to edge themselves away from the relegation dogfight, so this game should not be as tense as it looked a few weeks ago. Newcastle have picked up 11 points from their last 5 games, and Roy Keane’s side have also picked up form, with three wins in their last four games.

Sunderland have not won at St James Park for 8 years, when goals from Don Hutchison and now-chairman Niall Quinn gave them a 2-1 win. The Black Cats follow this derby with another - a home match against Middlesbrough. The reverse fixture at the Stadium of light ended in a 1-1 draw. The referee for this match is Mike Dean.

Match Odds:

Newcastle United - 4/5 (Ladbrokes)

Draw - 12/5 (Blue Square)

Sunderland - 7/2 (William Hill)

Manchester City v Portsmouth

Both Man City and Portsmouth are on course for their highest-ever Premiership finishes - Portsmouth looking to improve on their ninth-place finish last season, and City looking to better their eight-place finish in 2004/05. Both sides are also chasing European qualification, so there’s plenty to play for in this match.

Manchester City have won just one home match in the last eight at Eastlands, and will be looking to string together back-to-back wins for the first time since October. Portsmouth are in fine form at the moment, having won 6 of their lasty eight games in all competitions, and have not shipped a goal in more than four hours of football. They remain the only side with a 100% record when scoring first, having won 14 out of 14.

The reverse fixture at Fratton Park was a goalless draw, as was this fixture last season. The referee for this match is Andre Marriner.