Relegation battles abound as Tim Sherwood makes Aston Villa bow

The relegation landscape could be set to change this week, as new Aston Villa coach Tim Sherwood takes over the reins at Villa Park in hope of transforming what has been a turbulent term so far.

Villa and their new boss will welcome Stoke City, but will surely have an eye on their relegation rivals’ fixtures as well. Gus Poyet and Sunderland will be hungry to take three points from a resurgent West Bromwich Albion, while Hull City and QPR’s clash could also prove key.

Aston Villa v Stoke City
All eyes will be on how Sherwood sets out his stall against Stoke, with Villa available at a superb 7/4 with Coral to claim the injury-plagued Potters’ scalp.

Sherwood’s influence has already been felt at Villa Park, with an FA Cup fifth round victory against Midlands rivals Leicester City last time out attributed to the former Tottenham coach’s impromptu half-time team talk.

Christian Benteke should benefit from Sherwood’s attacking tactics, and the Belgium frontman is 5/1 to find his form and fire home first with a fresh start afoot, while youngsters such as Jack Grealish could also flourish.

The Villans have already beaten their visitors at the Britannia stadium this season and Manchester City-owned Scott Sinclair’s trickery should prove a challenge for the Potters’ depleted defence.

Stoke have suffered lately, conceding eight in their last two outings, due to the absence of key players such as Bojan Krkic and skipper Ryan Shawcross.

However, Hughes has stated that his side will visit Villa with “all guns blazing”, so back biggest goal threats Peter Crouch (11/2 to net first) and Jon Walters (12/5 to score anytime) to make an impact.