Kick-off: 1630, 12/02/2023
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
TV: Sky Sports
Manchester City have had a tough week on and off the pitch and we fear Aston Villa could feel the backlash at Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola thrives on the ‘us against the world’ siege mentality and will urge the Blues to make a statement in this televised contest.
We like 4/1 for a home win by any three-goal margin as our first Man City vs Aston Villa prediction.
Manchester City Odds
City’s bid to complete a hat-trick of Premier League title triumphs was rocked by a double blow over the past few days.
Harry Kane’s 15th-minute strike consigned them to a 1-0 loss at Tottenham, the champions’ fourth league defeat of the season.
The Citizens were then charged with more than 100 alleged rule breaches relating to financial fair play.
That case has been referred to an independent commission and City could be docked points or even expelled from the Premier League if found guilty.
A statement in response said: “The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
“As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
For now, City are playing catch-up with Arsenal in this season’s title race, but Kyle Walker is confident they can come good.
“There is still a lot of football to play,” he declared. “I have been here many, many years in the Premier League and I know the twists and turns that can happen.
“I know what this team is about and what this team can do. We can go on a run from now until the end of the season and it is just about doing it.”
The hosts will look to hit the ground running and Villa have conceded more goals inside a quarter of an hour than any other Premier League team this term.
Looking at the Man City vs Aston Villa odds, let’s go with the Blues to be leading after 15:00 minutes at 12/5.
Last City line-up: Ederson, Walker, Ake, Akanji, Lewis, Grealish, Rodri, Silva, Mahrez, Haaland, Alvarez.
City are still without defender John Stones because of a thigh injury. Midfielder Phil Foden will be checked after missing last week’s defeat at Tottenham through illness.
Aston Villa Odds
Villa fought back bravely to draw 1-1 with City on home turf in September but had lost nine straight head-to-head meetings before that.
Unai Emery’s side looked in good form when back-to-back victories over Leeds and Southampton made it six wins out of nine in this competition.
However, last weekend’s 4-2 home defeat by struggling Leicester brought them back down to earth with a bump.
The Midlands outfit led twice through Ollie Watkins and a Harry Souttar own goal but ultimately contributed to their own downfall with a series of costly errors.
“I think we were unbeaten in January, three wins and one draw,” World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez told VillaTV.
“We thought it was the time to make that next step, to be closer to Europe. It is a really, really hard one to take.”
Emery said after the game he would continue asking his team to play out from the back – even though Villa mistakes led to all of the goals they conceded.
That could prove a dangerous policy when coming up against City’s high-pressing tactics and a hungry Erling Haaland!
The visitors have netted in eight straight league games, though, so 14/1 for a 4-1 correct score is added to our Man City vs Aston Villa betting tips, along with 11/4 for a home win and over 4.5 goals.
Last Villa line-up: Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Young, Digne, Luiz, Buendia, Ramsey, Kamara, Watkins, Bailey.
Winger Bertrand Traore is back training with the Villa squad after being recalled from his loan spell at Istanbul Basaksehir. Defender Diego Carlos (Achilles) is close to a return after being out since the start of the season.
Additional stats
Player statistic
| Rodri (Assist: Riyad Mahrez) |
 |
4' | ||
| 37' |  |
Lucas Digne | ||
| Ilkay Gündogan (Assist: Erling Haaland) |
|
39' | ||
| Rúben Dias | |
41' | ||
| Riyad Mahrez |  |
45+1' | ||
| 61' | |
Ollie Watkins (Assist: Douglas Luiz) | ||
| 63' | |
Ezri Konsa |
Match statistic
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