Aston Villa vs Man City Match Preview

Manchester City are a pale shadow of the team that had dominated English football with four Premier League wins on the trot coming into this season.

Pep Guardiola’s side are in full-on crisis mode now, with just one win in 11 games in all competitions.

Aston Villa snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Nottingham Forest last weekend, but Unai Emery’s side know they can leapfrog the Citizens with a win at Villa Park in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.

Setting the Scene

The Manchester derby loss to United at the Etihad on Sunday was the latest stumble in a remarkable sequence from City that Guardiola admits has been giving him sleepless nights.

His team have lost five times and won just half of their 16 Premier League assignments so far. The season isn’t yet at halfway and, already, City’s recent title-winning points tallies of 91, 89, 93 and 86 look well out of reach.

If Villa can claim three points in this Saturday lunchtime showdown, and other results go against them, City could spend Christmas as low as ninth in the table.

It is the most remarkable decline, all the more so because of the sheer speed at which it has set in.

The Spaniard is in brand new territory and the City boss is on record suggesting it will be next season before the problems can be solved. What happens in the interim? Can his side recover their poise enough to be sure of Champions League football next season?

Anything less is unthinkable but, amid their current malaise, that is the fear for City right now.

John Stones made the bench for the Manchester derby defeat after missing five games and could return now.

Kevin De Bruyne went off in that game and is being touted for a January departure from the club, so it remains to be seen how the Belgian playmaker is deployed for now.

Villa appeared to be getting over their shaky spell with league wins over Brentford and Southampton, but a late Forest double cut them down at the City Ground on Saturday last, meaning it is two Premier League wins in the last eight for Emery and European highfliers.

Jacob Ramsey remains out for Villa, with Leon Bailey a doubt. England forward Ollie Watkins has been benched for the last Premier League games, with Jhon Duran starting and scoring in both.

Tip 1: Over 10 Corners @ 1/1 with bet365

The corner count should get comfortably into double figures.

City’s last four games have seen them take eight, six, eight and eight corners, while Villa had just three at Nottingham Forest but, before that, took seven, 14 and 10 in games against RB Leipzig, Southampton and Brentford.

This should be an open affair and both teams can combine to reach 11 or more restarts from corners.

Tip 2: Man City to win and both teams to score @ 13/5

If the Citizens are going to start to come out of this poor run then Villa may be the opposition they crave.

City have won more Premier League games and scored more goals against the Villans than they have against any Premier League opponent bar Newcastle.

Villa beat City 1-0 here last season, but haven’t notched successive home league wins over them in 31 years.

With just one clean sheet in their last 11 games, City may need more than one goal to get the win.