Aston Villa's signing of James Milner from Newcastle on Friday made him the eighth summer signing of Martin O'Neill's.

A side that full of goals (at both ends) in the second half of last season have bought significantly but the fans have not experienced a change in the approach on the pitch.

Last season, since Christmas, Villa's games saw over 2.5 goals in 14 of their 20 games. This season, they have beaten Man City 4-2 and lost 2-3 at Stoke.

However, they look more threatening this season and are certainly capable of being the "best of the rest" and finishing in fifth at least.

Liverpool, meantime, have not started the season well. They are unbeaten, but were very fortunate in both the Premiership wins over Sunderland (1-0) and Middlesbrough (2-1).

All of their three goals came in the final 10 minutes; in the two legs against Standard Liege in the Champions League qualifying it took them over 210 minutes of playing time to find the net.

Defensively, Liverpool were strong last year, but signs of weakness have been shown early this season and goalkeeper Reina has been a key player already.

The loss of Steven Gerrard to injury is a big blow for Rafa Benitez. In the Premiership last year, Torres scored 24, Gerrard 12; after that, Crouch and Voronin were next highest with 5 goals.

Going against Villa is their recent record against Liverpool; they have drawn four of their last five at home in the league against Liverpool and since Villa won at Anfield in September 2001, Liverpool have been 8-5-0 against Villa.

Match Betting Previews 29-31 August 2008 >>> UEFA Super Cup: - Man Utd v Zenit Premiership: Arsenal v Newcastle - Bolton v WBA - Everton v Portsmouth - Hull v Wigan - Middlesbrough v Stoke - West Ham v Blackburn - Aston Villa v Liverpool - Chelsea v Spurs - Sunderland v Man City La Liga: Deportivo v Real Madrid - Numancia v Barcelona - Valencia v Mallorca Serie A: Sampdoria v Inter - Fiorentina v Juventus - Roma v Napoli Bundesliga: Leverkusen v Hoffenheim - Bayern v Hertha Ligue 1: Marseille v Sochaux - St Etienne v Lyon Superliga: Benfica v FC Porto SPL: Celtic v Rangers

Sunday looks a decent time for this record to be broken; but odds of $3.00 for the home win in those circumstances aren't great. The Handicap is not great value either.

Instead, consider the Asian Handicap at 0 goals. This would return full stake were it to be a draw (like four of the last five meetings at Villa Park), but would pay out at $2.20 were Villa to end their current run against Liverpool and win.

This may not seem the most inspring bet, but the insurance of the return of stake for the draw is enticing.

BETZINE UK TIP *****

Bet: Asian Handicap Villa +0 goals - Aston Villa win Odds: $2.20 Stake: 6pts Bookies: Boyle Sports

Match Betting Previews 29-31 August 2008 >>> UEFA Super Cup: - Man Utd v Zenit Premiership: Arsenal v Newcastle - Bolton v WBA - Everton v Portsmouth - Hull v Wigan - Middlesbrough v Stoke - West Ham v Blackburn - Aston Villa v Liverpool - Chelsea v Spurs - Sunderland v Man City La Liga: Deportivo v Real Madrid - Numancia v Barcelona - Valencia v Mallorca Serie A: Sampdoria v Inter - Fiorentina v Juventus - Roma v Napoli Bundesliga: Leverkusen v Hoffenheim - Bayern v Hertha Ligue 1: Marseille v Sochaux - St Etienne v Lyon Superliga: Benfica v FC Porto SPL: Celtic v Rangers