Man City v Aston Villa – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Man City host Aston Villa in the English Premier League on Wednesday. The reverse fixture saw City muster just two shots in a 2-0 defeat. Villa have won three of their last four away matches in the league, but City have won 17 and drawn three of their last 20 fixtures in all competitions.

Man City Form

Man City have won 17 of their last 20 matches. The three ‘slip-ups’ were 1-1 draws vs Chelsea and Liverpool and a 0-0 stalemate at home to Arsenal on Sunday. That match saw them have just one shot on target in a lacklustre attacking display.

Before that, they had beaten FC Copenhagen 3-1 away and 3-1 at home prior to a fortunate 1-1 draw at Anfield as they allowed 12 shots in the second half. Before the FIFA break, City comfortably won 2-0 at home against Newcastle in the FA Cup.

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola still has a question mark Ederson’s availability in goal. John Stones was on the bench against Arsenal, but he may not be fit enough to start.

Kyle Walker is out with a hamstring problem and Nathan Ake exited the action on Sunday and will play no part. There could be a start for Rico Lewis because of the injuries whilst Jeremy Doku is pushing to return to the XI.

Man City Motivation

City will see anything besides a win as being like a defeat. They will look to control this match and stop Villa’s main counter attacking weapons.

Guardiola won’t care too much about the margin of victory or goal difference – his concern will only be taking three points in this match.

Aston Villa Form

After a run of one win in six, Villa have hit a good streak of late with one loss in eight. They won three consecutive league matches: 2-1 at Fulham, 4-2 at home to Nottingham Forest and 3-2 at Luton Town. A dull 0-0 draw followed away to Ajax in the Europa Conference League.

After a shock 4-0 home thrashing by Tottenham, Villa highlighted their character by themselves destroying Ajax 4-0 in the second leg in Europe. A 1-1 draw at West Ham saw a late equaliser scored. On Saturday, they ground out a 2-0 home win over an injury-hit Wolves side.

Aston Villa Team News

Unai Emery has three long-term injury victims who will play no part. Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia and Boubacar Kamara are all ruled out for the rest of the season.

Matty Cash was injured on international duty whilst John McGinn is still suspended. Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins only have a small chance of being available. If the latter misses out, then Jhon Duran will lead the line.

Aston Villa Motivation

Villa were outstanding in the first match against City this season. That will give them belief in this one.

If Watkins is out, Emery may set up to play for a point. His side still has an 11-point buffer in the race for a top-five finish.

Key Stats

Man City have won 17 of their last 20 matches.

City’s Erling Haaland has scored 10 goals in his last 10 matches.

Aston Villa have lost just 1 of their last 8 matches.

Villa are unbeaten in 5 away EPL matches (DWWWD)

Verdict

This could be a close match with City’s defensive injuries and the doubts over Ollie Watkins for Villa both proving key. The hosts should eke out the victory, but they could leak a goal in the process.

Best Bet: Man City win and Both to Score at 2.55

Alternate Bet: Man City win (-1 handicap) at 1.71

Goalscorer Tip: Erling Haaland to score 2 or more goals at 3.35

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis