Manchester City v Aston Villa Match Result
Manchester City are no longer regarded as banker material in the Premier League this season. Pep Guardiola’s side only have a 50% win rate this term, landing ten wins from sixteen encounters at the Etihad Stadium. Away from home, it’s been just six victories in sixteen clashes, with the team having to now contend without Erling Haaland who is out for the season with injury.
Even so, the Cityzens are 57% likely to win this clash according to the latest odds. They are looking to cement their spot in next season’s Champions League and recent form has been quite strong. There was an FA Cup win at Bournemouth before a 2-0 success at Leicester. Then came a goalless draw at Old Trafford before an outstanding 5-2 victory over Crystal Palace.
City showed character to come from two goals down to land that win, with Kevin De Bruyne kickstarting the comeback and the Belgian might play a pivotal role in his final few games at the club. However, meeting Aston Villa is not an easy fixture and much depends how fresh the visitors happen to be.
On the face of things, the Villans have had some excellent form. After a 4-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on 25 February, there was a spate of victories which was only brought to an end when losing 3-1 away to Paris Saint-Germain. However, they then gave the French side a scare when coming back to win 3-2 in the reverse leg.
On the previous Saturday, Unai Emery’s side will have entertained Newcastle before preparing for this tricky match. Squad rotation might be in play here and perhaps they can still produce a fine performance in their quest to play Champions League football again next term.
Goals Under/Over
It’s easy to see why such short odds are available when it comes to Over 2.5 Goals. We’re talking about two attack-minded teams who are capable of racking up goals. You only have to look at Villa’s clashes in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain. There were four goals registered at the Parc des Princes before five were notched at Villa Park.
In the past seven Villa encounters in all competitions, three or more goals have been registered. When the teams previously met at Villa Park in December, it was a 2-1 success for the Midlands side and it’s easy to see the goal total be three or more when it comes to a game where both sides will feel confident of a win.
Manchester City’s 5-2 win over Crystal Palace reflects their mood right now. They are in now way tight defensively, although chance creation can certainly occur with this squad of players and perhaps they are learning to play in an alternative way now that Haaland is injured for the first time in his City career.
BTTS
Aston Villa are very much full of goals right now. They have recently scored three goals against Club Brugge (twice), Preston North End, Brighton, Southampton and Paris Saint-Germain. Therefore, we should expect Unai Emery’s side to find the net at least once at the Etihad Stadium. There’s a clutch of players who can find the net including former Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
Maybe Ollie Watkins will be given the nod instead, with Marcos Asensio proving to be an inspired loan signing from Paris Saint-Germain. There are so many goals in the team thanks to Emery’s coaching and surely we will see the visitors find the net.
As for Manchester City, how can you doubt that they will find the net on home soil? They have scored thirty-seven goals in the space of sixteen games and there was that recent five-goal salvo against Crystal Palace.
There have been recent blanks drawn although they were at Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. At home, it’s only Liverpool who have recently been able to thwart them although Guardiola’s side have found a way to get back among the goals since then.
First Goalscorer
There are lots of different options when it comes to first goalscorer in this game. Let’s start with Omar Marmoush who looks well on his way to being a Manchester City legend. He has twenty-seven goals in all competitions this term, with the Egyptian really announcing himself with a hat-trick against Newcastle United. Since then, he has scored against Brighton, Bournemouth, Leicester and Crystal Palace.
Kevin De Bruyne started the comeback against the Eagles and the Belgian could also be joined in the starting line-up by James McAtee who is starting to find his feet for the north-west club. There could also be a blossoming star on the scoresheet, with Nico O’Reilly having already starting to figure in the starting line-up.
As for the Villans, Marcus Rashford has regularly been a thorn in the side for Manchester City when appearing for Manchester United. It will be interesting to see whether he gets the nod over Ollie Watkins in attack, while Morgan Rogers is arguably the first name on the teamsheet and the attacking midfielder regularly finds space in key areas.