England Premier League
Wednesday 3rd April 2024
Kick off at 8:15pm BST
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Match Preview:
Would it be hyperbole to suggest that if Manchester City were to lose this game and Liverpool and Arsenal won their respective midweek matches that their title chance would be over? It is an interesting question because on the face of it the worst case scenario going into next weekend would see Manchester City 6 points behind the leaders but once you consider Arsenal in the mix too then City could be in serious danger. So what is the current problem for Pep Guardiola’s side? Well they are drawing too many games and normally at this time in the season we see WWWWW and so on next to their names. But recent form has seen the club draw 50% of their games over a six match period which includes draws in their last two in a row. They were against the top 2 sides but that is still points dropped and the one at the weekend would have hurt more drawing 0-0 at home even if the opponent was a strong team in Arsenal, in previous seasons City have been able to score 3 and 4 goals against them, this season is a drop off and City don’t quite look like champions anymore. It would sound bizarre to sound out Erling Haaland who is currently the top goalscorer in the league but it isn’t just goals that count and he has looked sluggish for the past month, not quite on his devastating game- Haaland needs to show up for this one.
At home City has the joint 2nd best record with 35 points won from 42 and it should be stated that they remain unbeaten here but have drawn 5 of their 15 games so far. They are also not scoring as many goals and are usually in the 40s by now but come into this one with 34. For City it may look like little details but in reality it is those details which may end up stopping them from winning the league. Aston Villa have been a solid team for much of the season and last weekend they got back to winning ways after no wins in their previous two games by beating Wolves 2-0 at home. Villa are in 4th place and they could close the gap to City to just 2 points which would feel like an incredible feat. Villa could lose 4th place if they lose here and Tottenham get a decent result over West Ham.
Team News:
Manchester City: Ederson has made a good recovery from a muscle injury and he will be assessed ahead of the game. Nathan Ake is very doubtful with a calf injury and is expected to miss the next few weeks. Kyle Walker is a doubt with a hamstring injury and has no fixed return date at present
Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins will be assessed for a hamstring injury and it isn’t quite sure if the injury was serious or not. Jacob Ramsey could be assessed but may miss out as he recovers from a foot injury. Matthew Cash is still 3 weeks away with a hamstring injury, John McGinn is suspended but will return at the weekend. Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are both out for the season
Man City vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
Last season Manchester City won this fixture 3-1.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Aston Villa won 1-0 it was their first win over City in 16 games.
There is a 70% chance to see both teams to score.
Man City vs Aston Villa Prediction:
There’s a trend this season with Manchester City and it isn’t a positive one the club are not picking up wins against the clubs at the top of the table, this could be their undoing and right now you’d take Liverpool or Arsenal for the title over City. This is a worry because when City don’t win the league they are usually at least in 2nd place and that position is under threat.
We’re not too convinced by City at this present time and think that Villa can give them a game. Of course if City click they can score plenty of goals even against this very good Villa side but we don’t see that happening and the 1.25 being quoted on a home win we believe is poor value. Instead look into a surprise or at least cover yourself and take Villa on the handicap.
Man City vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (+2.0 Aston Villa) at 1.68
Both teams to score at 1.66
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