Aston Villa vs Manchester City prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-12-20 12:30.
[p]Aston Villa had been rediscovering some of their best form before a late collapse at Nottingham Forest last weekend (2-1) ended their three-game winning run. That was just the second time from seven they’d gone on to lose a Premier League game when scoring first this season (W4, D1), but they must now try and shake off that frustration as they welcome a faltering Manchester City to Villa Park. [/p]
[p]Sitting seventh in the table, City are one of the sides Villa will look to overtake with a win, and Unai Emery’s men can draw confidence from victory in this corresponding fixture last season (1-0). Their seven-match unbeaten home league run (W4, D3) serves as another source of inspiration, yet they’ve not won successive home Premier League fixtures against City since 1993 which showcases how hard they’ve found this challenge historically. [/p]
[p]The visitors will hope that’s a good omen as they look to bounce back from a painful collapse of their own, also losing 2-1 with late goals conceded against rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Positively, only against Newcastle have Manchester City won more Premier League games and scored more Premier League goals than they have against Aston Villa (W30, G98).[/p]
[p]City’s form of late indicates that their dominant H2H record will be put to the test, with Pep Guardiola’s men managing just one win in 11 competitive outings (D2, L8). Guardiola admitted on Sunday night post-match that something felt “wrong” with his team right now, and that point is only highlighted further by the fact their eight defeats in all competitions across their last 11 matches is as many as they suffered in the 106 games prior! [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Jhon Durán is feeling the benefit of faith from his manager as he’s played at least 45 minutes in Villa’s past three games and scored in each of them, while he also scored against City when these sides last met in April. Man City’s Phil Foden scored a hat-trick in that game, but he’s had more shots without scoring than any other player in the Premier League this season (24). [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Manchester City have lost two of their last three Premier League games in which they’ve led at half-time – they haven’t lost three such games in a single campaign since 2003/04.[/p]
[p][i]Written by David H[/i][/p]