Lambert can make it three out of three for Villa

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY: CHICAGO FIRE v ASTON VILLA – GO TO MARKET

If ever there was a great time for a man to take over a football club, then Paul Lambert certainly found it this summer.

Despite his excellent record at Norwich and the love of the fans at Carrow Road, Lambert decided Aston Villa would be a better bet for his career (as we know, Lambert is a ruthless careerist who looks after number one first and foremost) but even if the Canaries finished above Villa last season, the Scot timed his move to perfection.

Because in replacing the hapless and uniformly unpopular Alex McLeish, Lambert has the fans onside already, merely for not being the hapless and uniformly unpopular Alex McLeish.

Villa were so poor last year, so dour, so gutless – all in the mirror of their out-of-his-depth manager – that Lambert recognises that he couldn’t possibly do any worse and the only way is up.

The Midlands outfit saw off Burton Albion before heading to the US and having beaten Philadelphia Union 1-0 last time out – and with a series of positive noises coming out of the camp – Lambert will be confident of maintaining his 100% record in pre-season.

I probably couldn’t do any worse, but what a thrill it must be to take a job knowing that you can’t possibly fail to improve on the efforts of your predecessor. Lambert is helped by the fact that he was the choice of the majority of Villa fans and as such, he arrives on a crest of goodwill and optimism.

Pre-season has started in that vein. There has been some decent transfer activity already, Lambert bringing in Karim El Ahmadi of Feyenoord and Sheffield United’s Matthew Lowton, and Villa’s current tour of America (chairman Randy Lerner’s homeland) couldn’t be going any better.

Two wins from two have put a spring in the collective Villa step and their third match in their stateside stay sees the Villans take on Chicago Fire in Illinois on Saturday.

Villa are the odds-on favourites with bwin to win the match at 19/20, with the Fire priced at 5/2 with the draw chalked up at 11/5.

Chicago might be in the middle of the MLS season (currently sitting halfway down the table in fifth and in the play-off places of the Eastern Division) but Villa are hard to oppose here.

The Midlands outfit saw off Burton Albion before heading to the US and having beaten Philadelphia Union 1-0 last time out – and with a series of positive noises coming out of the camp – Lambert will be confident of maintaining his 100% record in pre-season.

Chicago have only scored twice in their last five and at 19/20, Villa can keep the good feeling going a little longer.

Recommended bet: Aston Villa to beat Chicago Fire @ 19/20

New customers can register here to claim a free £20 bet or click here to see all our Premier League odds.

Follow us on Twitter @bwin