Pep Guardiola is enduring a tough time at Manchester City
Manchester City suffered a shocking setback last weekend, conceding two late goals to lose 2-1 at home against fierce rivals Manchester United in the Premier League.
- Aston Villa’s only home league defeat this season came against Arsenal in August
- Manchester City’s defeat to Manchester United last weekend marked their eighth loss in 11 matches across all competitions
- Recommended bet: 2-2 correct score
Pep Guardiola’s struggling champions have now lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions. They also squandered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Since March, only Arsenal have beaten Aston Villa in the Premier League at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s high-flying Villa team, who are also thriving in the Champions League, are poised to add to City’s troubles.
Rodri has been a huge miss for Manchester City this season
Villa Team News:
Aston Villa will assess the fitness of centre-back Tyrone Mings (illness) and winger Leon Bailey, who is recovering from a thigh injury. Midfielder Jacob Ramsey is expected to be sidelined until the New Year.
Manchester City Team News:
City hope to have defender Manuel Akanji available, but Rodri, Oscar Bobb, and Nathan Ake remain out due to injuries. Rico Lewis returns after serving a one-match ban against Manchester United last weekend.
Key Stats:
- Villa have lost only one of their last 13 Premier League games at Villa Park.
- They have opened the scoring in their last four matches across all competitions.
- Unai Emery’s side have taken just one point from five games against teams above them in the Premier League table.
- Manchester City have lost three of their last seven Premier League matches by a 2-1 scoreline.
- The Citizens have won, and both teams have scored, in five of the last seven league meetings between these clubs.
- Eight of City’s last 10 Premier League matches have produced over 2.5 goals.
Match Prediction:
Manchester City looked set for a morale-boosting win over rivals Manchester United on Sunday before defensive issues allowed Bruno Fernandes to equalize with a penalty in the 88th minute, followed by Amad Diallo’s injury-time winner.
City’s biggest struggles have come away from home, losing six of their last seven away fixtures. Notably, three of those defeats—at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, Bournemouth, and Brighton in the league—were by a 2-1 margin, while they also drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace earlier this month.
The 2-2 correct score looks appealing as they visit Aston Villa, who have kept only two clean sheets in their last 21 league games. Villa’s last two clean sheets came against bottom-club Southampton and a struggling Manchester United team under Erik ten Hag.
Villa also conceded two late goals to lose 2-1 away to Nottingham Forest last weekend. They have drawn five of their last 10 home league matches, including 2-2 draws with Chelsea at the end of last season and with Crystal Palace this season.
Back the 2-2 correct score at 9/1 with for what promises to be an entertaining contest on Saturday.