AVFC (Aston Villa) vs MCI (Manchester City) Match Prediction
England
Villa Park
Aston Villa in their last game travelled to the South coast of England to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth took the lead in the 10th minute through Semenyo after some questionable defending from Diego Carlos.
10 minutes later Villa hit back with a brilliant effort from Bailey as he jetted past two Bournemouth defenders before combining with Watkins to beat Neto in goal. 5 minutes later Villa had a goal ruled out by VAR. Villa ended the half on a stronger note. Bournemouth however hit back early in the second half after Solanke scored a wonderful goal on the turn to beat Martinez and put his team in the lead again.
Villa kept putting in the pressure as Duran came close by hitting the post in the 72nd minute. Villa finally got their goal through Ollie Watkins as he headed in from Diaby’s cross to rescue 2 points right at the death.
Manchester City meanwhile welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Son Heung-Min gave the visitors the perfect start as Spurs countered and the South Korean beat the explosive Doku for pace and slotted in past Ederson to give Spurs the lead. The Korean on the other scored the equaliser 3 minutes later for Manchester City. Alvarez’s free kick landed on Haaland’s head.
The Norwegian’s header deflected off Son to go past Vicario in goal, letting City back into the game. It was an end-to-end game as both sides had their chances with Bissouma blocking Haaland’s shot on goal and Doku striking the post. City finally took the lead through Phil Foden as Haaland, Doku and Alvarez were involved in setting up the English attacking midfielder to score.
Spurs equalised through Lo Celso after City failed to take their chances early in the second half. City managed to pile the pressure once again and took the lead once again as Haaland set up substitute Grealish to score in the 81st minute.
Spurs hit back once again in the 90th minute as Kulusevski scored to make it 3-3 in a fine fashion. The game ended frantically as the game was pulled back just as Haaland slipped Grealish through on Spurs’ goal. Both teams ended up settling for a point.
Facts:
- Aston Villa have a terrible record against Manchester City in the Premier League. The Villains have failed to win in any of their last 13 League games against the Citizens. Villa have drawn 2 and lost 11 of the 13 games. Their last win against Manchester City came way back in 2013 when they won 3-2 at Villa Park in September.
- Manchester City have scored a whopping 48 goals in their last 18 games against Aston Villa in the Premier League. They have scored at least a goal in 17 of those games with just one game ending scoreless at Villa Park in November 2015.
- Manchester City have a brilliant record when they play midweek, especially on a Wednesday in the UK. City have won 25 of their last 26 games.
- Aston Villa meanwhile do not have a great record when they play on a Wednesday. Emery’s men have just 1 win from their last 12 games, drawing 4 and losing 7.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City Chance of Winning
In the recent battles between Aston Villa and Manchester City, the head-to-head record between these two sides is dominated by the team from Manchester. In the last 30 games between these two teams, the Villains have won on just 4 occasions, 4 games ended in a dead rubber and City came out victorious 22 times. City has dominated Villa in recent times but do Pep Guardiola’s men have the momentum to do it once again?
Manchester City in defence looked lost in their 3-3 draw against Spurs. Pep Guardiola’s men have tended to struggle in the offensive team and are competitive in midfield. City are at their best when they are given time and space on the ball.
Aston Villa is however not a side, especially at Villa Park that offers teams time on the ball. We expect Unai Emery’s men to be explosive and press City with intent. City did struggle with the Spurs’ press and Unai Emery would have made a note of that.
What has made City champions is their ability to evolve. Pep will certainly come out with a way to cure their weaknesses by making tactical adjustments. City could be dominated but they have the personnel to be clinical and take advantage of the few mistakes Aston Villa make. We feel Manchester City has a slightly better chance of winning against Aston Villa.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City Predictions and Betting Tips
According to the bookmakers, Manchester City goes into this game as clear favourites to beat the home team in Aston Villa at Villa Park on Thursday. The odds in this game do favour the defending champions but Villa are no pushovers in this game. We expect this game to be a drawn-out affair between both teams. This game has all the ingredients to produce a spectacle.
Aston Villa has had a fantastic home-scoring record in the Premier League. Unai Emery’s team averages 3.83 goals a game this season at Villa Park. Villa’s stats and Manchester City's defensive fragilities surely suggest that there are goals from the former in this game.
Villa have defensively also been very adept at home conceding just 0.83 goals a game. Manchester City on the flipside scored 2.29 goals on an average away from the Etihad Stadium this season. Pep Guardiola’s men however have conceded 1.29 goals on average this season
Based on all these numbers we predict the following outcomes. We believe that there will be goals in this game. Our pick is for Villa to score 1 or more goals in this game. We expect Manchester City to score in this game as well.
City this season have failed to score in just one away game. In terms of clean sheets, both Manchester City and Aston Villa have very low chances to keep their goal clean. Aston Villa have had a great record having led at halftime in 83% of their games. City meanwhile has won the first half in just 29% of their games this season.
Our call is for Aston Villa to start this game very sharply, put pressure on Manchester City and lead on the break. It is a risky shout but it is worth taking. City this season have scored first in 10 of their 14 games whereas Aston Villa opened the scoring first in 7 of their 14 games. City have the better record here but Aston Villa playing at home could put early pressure and get an early goal.
Referee John Brooks likes to dig into his pocket to produce yellow cards. The referee averages 3.84 cards on an average this season. This game could be a heated affair, especially in midfield. The likes of Luiz and McGinn are quite aggressive players. Our pick in this game is for both teams to get 4 or more yellow cards combined and also for Douglas Luiz to get booked.
For Manchester City, Erling Haaland is performing better away than in comparison at home this season. The explosive striker has scored 2 goals in each of his last two away games this season. Haaland could become the 3rd player in the Premier League to score a brace in three consecutive games if he nets two against Villa. We are not sure if he will get a brace but we tip Haaland to get at least one against Aston Villa on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins has been one of the most dependable strikers in the Premier League this season. Watkins is a central attacker who not only scores goals but also provides assists. Watkins at Villa Park has always delivered, scoring 11 goals and 4 assists in his last 15 games in the Premier League. Ollie Watkins is our pick to go into this game as a favourite to score for Aston Villa.
Final Prediction:Manchester City to beat Aston Villa
Aston Villa Player List
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Robin Olsen
Defenders: Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Alexandre Moreno, Calum Chambers, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Kortney Hause
Midfielders: Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Bertrand Traore, Emiliano Buendia, Phillipe Coutinho, Leon Bailey, Leander Dendoncker, Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans, Moussa Diaby, Jaden Philogene, Tim Iroegbunam
Attackers: Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran, Cameron Archer, Keinan Davis, Nicolo Zaniolo
Aston Villa Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Emiliano Martinez |
Goalkeeper |
|
Matty Cash |
Defender |
|
Ezri Konsa |
Defender |
|
Pau Torres |
Defender |
|
Lucas Digne |
Defender |
|
John McGinn |
Midfielder |
|
Douglas Luiz |
Midfielder |
|
Boubacar Kamara |
Midfielder |
|
Moussa Diaby |
Attacker |
|
Ollie Watkins |
Attacker |
|
Leon Bailey |
Attacker |
Aston Villa Team Form(Last five games): D, W, W, L, W
Manchester City Player List
Goalkeepers: Scott Carson, Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno
Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Sergio Gomez, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Josko Gvardiol
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic, Rodrigo, Matheus Nunes, Maximo Perrone, Kalvin Phillips, Bernardo Silva
Attackers: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Jeremy Doku
Manchester City Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Ederson |
Goalkeeper |
|
Josko Gvardiol |
Defender |
|
Ruben Dias |
Defender |
|
Manuel Akanji |
Defender |
|
Kyle Walker |
Defender |
|
Rodrigo |
Midfielder |
|
Bernardo Silva |
Midfielder |
|
Phil Foden |
Midfielder |
|
Julian Alvarez |
Attacker |
|
Erling Haaland |
Attacker |
|
Jeremy Doku |
Attacker |
Manchester City Team Form(Last five games): D, D, D, W, W
Aston Villa vs Manchester City Head-To-Head
Matches Played:179
Aston Villa wins:57
Manchester City wins:80
Matches are drawn:42
Aston Villa vs Manchester City Betting Odds
Aston Villa to win the match (PARIMATCH): 4.50.
Manchester City to win the match (PARIMATCH): 1.72.
Match to end in a draw (PARIMATCH): 4.30.
The betting odds have been calculated based on team performances in previous matches, player records etc. Odds are subject to change.
Our Prediction
Favorites to win
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has failed to taste victory in any of his last 3 Premier League, having drawn all three of them. City have a little worry about them this season and the last thing Pep would want this time is to play at Villa Park.
Spurs did expose City through their back line in their last game and Villa might also look to do that. Manchester City on the other hand are an experienced outfit. Pep is a master tactician who will be plotting to change City’s fortunes at the back.
City thrive in these pressure situations and know that if they lose then it could be trouble for them in the title race. The pressure of being left behind should propel Manchester City to just edge past Aston Villa in Villa Park on Thursday. We predict a 3-2 win for Manchester City in this game.
Parimatch