Pre-season is now well underway across England and the rest of Europe, with one of the Premier League's biggest clubs, Aston Villa, returning to action for a clash with local rivals Walsall.
Villa had a season of near misses in 2024/25, with an FA Cup semi-final exit coupled with a UEFA Champions League quarter-final run and then missing out on a top-five finish on the final day of the campaign that cost them a repeat on Europe's biggest stage.
Unai Emery's side step up their preparations for the coming campaign against The Saddlers, who themselves missed out on automatic promotion to League One last season after a monumental EFL collapse that culminated in them losing the play-off final to AFC Wimbledon at Wembley.
Two sides looking to move on and rebuild meet on Wednesday. Here's all the latest betting and tips for this pre-season clash.
Walsall vs. Aston Villa tips, predictions, bet builder and odds for pre-season friendly
All odds are correct at time of publish with firms listed. Click links to bet.
Villa will have a familiar look for this pre-season friendly. They have found life difficult in the transfer window over the summer, with Profit and Sustainability Rules restricting their business so far.
Theirs remains a deep squad that is likely to be heavily rotated over the course of the pre-season, so it's hard to predict just how strong they will be on Wednesday.
Walsall have stuck by manager Mat Sadler this summer as they seek to go again, but picking themselves up could be hard, having also lost key players such as Taylor Allen and Liam Gordon over the summer.
Let's look at our picks for this one.
Aston Villa to win with a -2 Handicap (6/4, Paddy Power)
This friendly is becoming something of an annual event, and last season saw Villa run out as comprehensive 3-0 winners thanks to a brace from Morgan Rogers and a strike by Louie Barry. Villa will again want to lay a marker down while Walsall’s focus will be on moving on from their disappointment of last year. A comfortable Villa win is to be expected, and the historical trend suggests a -2 Handicap is the way to go.
Both Teams To Score (6/10, Paddy Power)
Pre-season is unpredictable, to say the least. More than the result, the opening matches are about getting minutes in the legs of players and getting systems to click. Villa should win comfortably but will also use the opportunity to rotate and experiment — and that will naturally mean Walsall will have spells of possession and pressure. As we go through the summer you can expect the gulf in Premier League class to begin to tell in these matches, but early in July, neither side will be interested in shutting up shop. Backing goals at both ends is a smart play in those circumstances.
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Walsall vs. Aston Villa expected lineups, team news
As mentioned, Walsall have had to make plenty of changes to their squad over the summer, and now is the time for Sadler to bed in his new signings such as Aaron Pressley, who joined for an undisclosed fee from Stevenage last month.
- Walsall predicted XI (3-4-1-2, right to left): Roberts; Okagbue, Burke, Hancock; Adomah, Comley, Lakin, Harper; Jellis; Pressley, Mat
Unai Emery named a strong XI for this game last season, but with the Villains set for trips to Germany and the United States in the coming weeks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see plenty of younger players getting a chance to showcase their abilities.
- Aston Villa predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Gauci; Andres Garcia, Bogarde, Mings, Maatsen; Kamara, Barkley; Buendia, Ramsey, Barry; Watkins
Walsall vs. Aston Villa predicted score and most likely results
Here’s some of the most likely results for this match-up, according to Bet365 Odds are scorrect at the time of publish.
| Result | Odds |
| Aston Villa 2-0 | 17/2 |
| Aston Villa 3-0 | 9/1 |
| Aston Villa 1-0 | 12/1 |
| Aston Villa 2-1 | 9/1 |
| Aston Villa 3-1 | 9/1 |
| Draw 1-1 | 14/1 |
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How to watch Walsall vs. Aston Villa in pre-season friendly
- Date: Wednesday, July, 16
- Venue: Bescot Stadium, Walsall
- Time: 7:30 p.m. BST
- TV/Streaming: This game is not currently scheduled to broadcast in the U.K.
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