In today’s top betting pick, BetOnWins brings you the most accurate Aston Villa v Man City prediction. It’s fourth against third in Matchday 15 of the English Premier League as Aston Villa goes up against Manchester City at Villa Park. The Villans are looking to rewrite history as Unai Emery’s side are on a 13-game winning streak at home. This is the longest ongoing run in the EPL. Winning 14 or more consecutive home games will make Emery only the 7th manager to achieve this. A feat even legends such as Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho could not claim. But standing in their way is Manchester City, a team that Aston Villa has failed to beat in the last 10 years.
Can the Villans overcome the odds and continue their dream run or will Man City stop them in their tracks and close the gap to league leaders Arsenal? We bring you the answer with our Aston Villa v Man City prediction.
Watkins v Haaland – Two Top Forwards In Stellar Form
The Citizens’ away form has been shaky at best with just one win in their last four, and they need to tighten up at the back against a goal hungry Villa side. Ollie Watkins has been in stellar form at home, directly involved in 15 goals in his last 15 league appearances. City’s opposite number Erling Haaland has scored a brace in the team’s last two away games against Manchester United and Chelsea. The tall and mighty Norwegian has the chance to become just the third player to score two or more goals in three straight games on the road after Dennis Bergkamp and Hary Kane.
Emeri v Guardiola – A Long, But One Sided Battle Thus Far
Unai Emery faces a formidable adversary in Pep Guardiola having lost the last five and not beating the City manager in all 13 previous meetings. That includes spells in Valencia, Arsenal and Aston Villa.
Emeri was appointed as Villa’s manager not too long ago – October 24, 2022. He took over for Steven Gerrard, and the club has been improving greatly ever since.
Unai Emeri took Aston Villa from the relegation places and led them into Europe in just several months. What he has accomplished in a such a short time frame has been incredible.
Under Steve G, Villa were already fighting for survival as early as October. Fast-forward three months later, and the Villans were fighting for the European place, and they are playing in the Europa League this season. A tournament that Emeri is an absolute specialist in having won it a record four times!
Here is what Emeri had to say about his battles with Guardiola over the years in the prematch pressconference:
“Fifteen or 16 years ago I started playing against him, and it’s always been the same question about when I can win against him.
Always my response was the same: if I can take opportunities I will play more against the big teams and big coaches. The opportunity is always coming and tomorrow is an opportunity.
I am very excited to play again with our supporters in Villa Park and try to do our best. We are trying to be strong like we have been at home and take this opportunity.”
Emeri speaking to reporters ahead of the game against City
Unai Emery: “Tomorrow is another test and an awesome test of how we can show our potential.”
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 5, 2023
The boss caught up with the media this afternoon to preview our return to Villa Park tomorrow night. 👊
Aston Villa Team News
The major absentees for Villa are Tyron Mings and Emiliano Buendia, who are both out with long terms injuries. Winger Bertrand Traore is the other big miss for the Villans, although he is not a regular starter.
Manchester City Team News
Villa Park awaits! 🫡
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 5, 2023
🤝 #AsahiSuperDry pic.twitter.com/2KiQBpBCl4
As we often preach, it’s super important to analyze as many aspects as possible in order to come up with the best betting pick. This Aston Villa v Man City prediction is no different.
Going into this visit to Villa Park, Guardiola has several major issues to deal with. Manchester City will be missing Rodrigo and Jack Grealish due to suspension. This absence might pave the way for John Stones’ return after a few weeks on the sidelines. Pep Guardiola mentioned the possibility of Stones starting against Aston Villa, but the availability of Jeremy Doku will only be confirmed after Tuesday afternoon’s training session. Guardiola hinted at Stones potentially taking on Rodrigo’s usual position but emphasized that he’s exploring various options for the game.
An interesting fact is that without Rodri in their lineup, City’s win rate drops from 66% to 52%. This shows just how important the Spanish holding midfielder is for his team.
Aston Villa v Manchester City Prediction
As you would expect, Villa enter this game as underdogs as the odds for them to win are stacked at about 4.50, which is quite lucrative. Meanwhile, City are favored to win at about 1.70-1.80 decimal. Note that the Citizens have recorded three straight draws in the Premier League. With that being said, I expect City to break their draw streak and also break Villa’s 13-game home winning streak.
