Manchester City
A day will arrive when Manchester City finally manage to find the back of the net at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, let alone win a match there, but once again they were left disappointed following another frustrating visit to North London, as they suffered a loss. The situation has been made even more difficult this week, as the club has been accused of numerous violations by the Premier League, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy legal battle.
Despite the ongoing controversy, Pep Guardiola remains steadfast in his focus on winning football games. He has been handling media duties since the reports of violations emerged, but has made it clear that his team’s priorities lie in securing victories. Currently trailing 5 points behind league leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand, Manchester City will have a crucial week ahead, with a match against The Gunners set for Wednesday. Before that, they will aim to improve their 9-1-1 record at the Etihad Stadium, as they take on an opponent the day after Arsenal’s match against Brentford.
Before their defeat last weekend at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City had been on a three-game winning streak across all competitions. Although they were criticized for a lack of shots on target, their away form has been a source of concern. On Sunday, they return home to the Etihad Stadium, where they will aim to secure a fifth consecutive win since their 1-1 draw with Everton.
Unfortunately, John Stones is expected to miss the rest of the month, but Phil Foden is set to make a return to the squad for the upcoming weekend fixture.
Manchester City Last 5 Results
05/02/23. 17:30 Tottenham Hotspur – Manchester City 1 : 0 (1 : 0) (0 : 0) Premier League
27/01/23. 21:00 Manchester City – Arsenal 1 : 0 (0 : 0) (1 : 0) FA Cup
22/01/23. 15:00 Manchester City – Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 : 0 (1 : 0) (2 : 0) Premier League
19/01/23. 21:00 Manchester City – Tottenham Hotspur 4 : 2 (0 : 2) (4 : 0) Premier League
14/01/23. 13:30 Manchester United – Manchester City 2 : 1 (0 : 0) (2 : 1) Premier League
Aston Villa
Last weekend’s high-stakes Premier League match was a thrilling experience for neutral fans, but less so for Unai Emery and the Aston Villa supporters, who ultimately lost 2-4 to Leicester City at home. Over the next two weekends, Aston Villa will find themselves in the thick of the title race as they face the top two teams, but Emery and his staff are solely focused on improving their standing in the league.
The results from last weekend have left Aston Villa in 11th place in the Premier League table, just one point behind Liverpool in 10th. Despite this, there remains hope that they can push into contention for a return to European football. In away matches in the Premier League, Aston Villa have a record of 3 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses, scoring 8 goals and conceding 16.
Aston Villa had been on a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, winning three of those matches, until they suffered a surprising 2-4 loss to Leicester City at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s goal is to find the consistency needed to move up the league table, and in his three away Premier League games in charge, he has led the team to victories.
Although Diego Carlos and Bertrand Traore are making progress in their recoveries, it is unlikely that they will be available for this weekend’s match.
Aston Villa Last 5 Results
04/02/23. 16:00 Aston Villa – Leicester City 2 : 4 (2 : 3) (0 : 1) Premier League
21/01/23. 16:00 Southampton – Aston Villa 0 : 1 (0 : 0) (0 : 1) Premier League
13/01/23. 21:00 Aston Villa – Leeds United 2 : 1 (1 : 0) (1 : 1) Premier League
08/01/23. 17:30 Aston Villa – Stevenage 1 : 2 (1 : 0) (0 : 2) FA Cup
04/01/23. 21:00 Aston Villa – Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 : 1 (0 : 1) (1 : 0) Premier League
Head to Head
In their earlier encounter this season, these two clubs played to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park.
Manchester City boasts a 12-game winning streak at home against Aston Villa in League matches, but their victory in the final game of last season was a nail-biter. Despite going down 0-2, they managed to stage a comeback and win 3-2, securing the title for themselves and preventing Liverpool from stealing it.
03/09/22, 18:30 Aston Villa – Manchester City 1 : 1 (0 : 0) (1 : 1)
22/05/22, 17:00 Manchester City – Aston Villa 3 : 2 (0 : 1) (3 : 1)
01/12/21, 21:15 Aston Villa – Manchester City 1 : 2 (0 : 2) (1 : 0)
21/04/21, 21:15 Aston Villa – Manchester City 1 : 2 (1 : 2) (0 : 0)
20/01/21, 19:00 Manchester City – Aston Villa 2 : 0 (0 : 0) (2 : 0)
TWV Sport Team Thoughts
There have been questions raised about whether Pep Guardiola was aware of the off-field allegations facing Manchester City and whether it is contributing to the Champions’ recent inconsistent form.
Despite losing to Tottenham Hotspur in North London last weekend, Manchester City remains a strong contender in the Premier League title race.
This week could be a turning point for the team. Most expect Manchester City to secure a win against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, but their inconsistent away performances will not be sufficient if they hope to secure a crucial victory against Arsenal on Wednesday evening.
Guardiola will remind his players not to underestimate Aston Villa and to focus on their upcoming match against Arsenal. However, it can be human nature to look ahead and this tendency may be heightened in this instance given that most of the squad remember nearly losing the Premier League title to Aston Villa last May after trailing 0-2 at home. Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa has won all three of their away Premier League games.
While Aston Villa suffered a heavy loss in the League Cup Third Round at Manchester United, they have shown they can be a threat on the road, eager to attack and cause problems for their opponents. Despite the 2-4 loss at home to Leicester City, Emery has got his team scoring goals, which makes them a threat.
However, Aston Villa remains a work in progress when it comes to their defensive game, even though they have produced back-to-back away Premier League clean sheets. These are the only two clean sheets they have achieved in eight Premier League games under their current manager, and they can be vulnerable at the back when facing strong opposition.
We anticipate that Manchester City will perform well in front of their home crowd and they will be determined to prove themselves. The return of Phil Foden is an advantage for their attacking play and it’s worth noting that Manchester City have been strong in fixtures held at the Etihad Stadium.
In the past 6 games played here across all competitions since the World Cup, they have scored at least three times in 4 of them. It wouldn’t be surprising if they achieve the same against Aston Villa as they have won 12 consecutive home League games against them and have scored at least three goals in 9 of the last 10 League games hosted against Aston Villa.
While Aston Villa, under the management of Unai Emery, have shown that they can score goals and may contribute, I predict that Manchester City will secure a victory in a high-scoring match.
Match Result Prediction
Manchester City to win.
Score Prediction
Manchester City 2 – 1 Aston Villa
