Aston Villa vs Manchester City

April 3, 2024

As the floodlights illuminate the Etihad Stadium on this brisk midweek evening, Manchester City prepare to clash with Aston Villa in a high-stakes Premier League encounter pulsating with anticipation.

Unai Emery's side earned a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Villa Park earlier this season (in December).

Manchester City Betting Preview (-400 at Everygame)

Manchester City take on top-four hopefuls Aston Villa at the Etihad on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola's side were held to a goalless draw with title rivals Arsenal on Sunday and will be eager to get back on track in midweek. They remain third in the table, three points behind current leaders Liverpool so the Cityzens cannot afford to lose any more ground in the Premier League title race.

Not since a dull Champions League last-16 second leg with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon in the 2021-22 campaign (March 2022, to be more precise) had Pep Guardiola's men drawn a blank in front of goal at the Etihad. Furthermore, the Citizens faithful had to go even further back to October 2021 for the last time that their side were shut out at home in a Premier League match - a 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace.

Many would probably agree that Manchester City clearly don't present the same firepower as in their treble-winning campaign. However, they remain in the bid to secure Premier League and Champions League glory as well as to defend their treble since City will face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals later this month.

All in all, Pep Guardiola's men are unbeaten in 23 games in all competitions (winning 19 of them) - since the narrow defeat at Villa Park four months ago.

Dutch defender Nathan Ake was forced off in the first half of the derby against the Gunners on Sunday, so Rico Lewis could start in defense here.

Elsewhere, Ederson, Kyle Walker and John Stones are all doubts for Man City, even though Stones was on the bench against Arsenal.

Aston Villa Betting Preview (+900 at Everygame)

Only around 13 miles separate Molineux and Villa Park as Unai Emery's men were challenged to face West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend.

The 2-0 home victory over their West Midlands rivals was Aston Villa's first league success since the 3-2 win at Luton Town one month ago. They have suffered a disappointing 4-0 home loss to Tottenham and were also held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham United prior to the international break.

Emery's side have avoided defeat in each of their first eight away games of the calendar year in all competitions since Boxing Day's disappointing defeat at Old Trafford. Five of those eight matches have also seen Aston Villa keep a clean sheet.

As a result, Villa sit fourth in the Premier League standings, three points above Spurs, yet with a game in hand.

With that said, they need to perform on the highest possible level, or even beyond, as they're aiming to claim their first league win at the Etihad since April 2007, when Villa earned a 2-0 victory with John Carew and Shaun Maloney both scoring for the Birmingham outfit.

Ollie Watkins succumbed to a hamstring injury in the victory over Wolves last time out. With 16 goals and 10 assists in 30 league starts this term, Watkins' contribution is unmatched and his absence would be a huge blow for Unai Emery's tactics.

The Aston Villa boss would likely opt for by Jhon Duran, who replaced Watkins at the break against Wolves, to lead the line and the Colombian forward will be supported by the rejuvenated Moussa Diaby. The French international was the catalyst behind Villa's two-goal beating of Wolves.

Meanwhile, Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia all continue to work towards recovery from long-term injuries, while captain John McGinn still serves a suspension.

Possible Starting Lineups of Manchester City and Aston Villa

Manchester City: Stefan Ortega - Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol - Rodri - Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku - Erling Haaland. (4-1-4-1)

Aston Villa: Emiliano Martínez - Alex Moreno, Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa - Morgan Rogers, Douglas Luiz, Youri Tielemans, Leon Bailey - Moussa Diaby - Jhon Duran. (4-4-1-1)

Spooky Express Betting Prediction

Manchester City simply cannot afford to drop points against Aston Villa on Wednesday night. In fact, they have scored at least 2 goals in their last 14 home games against Aston Villa across all competitions.

Unai Emery’s side, on the other hand, are forced to take on the defending champions without some of their key players. Considering that a visit to the Etihad would've always been an uphill task, even if captain John McGinn and Ollie Watkins were available for selection, we can only envisage Manchester City making it 14 home top-flight wins in a row against the Villans to get their title defense back on track.

Spooky Express Free Play: Outcome And Both To Score - Manchester City and Yes +150 at Everygame for 5/10 Units

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