Man City vs Aston Villa Lines & Preview
Prospective Champions League Clubs Face Off
City Home Scoring Streak Comes to an End
Heading into the weekend, Manchester City had scored in 57 consecutive home games. Then, they failed to find the net in a scoreless draw vs. Arsenal on Sunday. Now, City will look to begin a new streak when they take on fourth-placed Aston Villa on Wednesday in the Premier League. Villa, the last time to defeat Man City in any match, are looking to complete their first-ever EPL double over City here, but it won’t be easy. As City look to remain unbeaten this season at the Etihad, we’ll cover the Man City vs Aston Villa lines and team news.
Manchester City vs. Aston Villa
Date, time:
Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
Man City vs Aston Villa Head-to-Head
Punters interested in the Man City vs Aston Villa lines should know that last December Villa got their first win over City since 2013. Leon Bailey scored the game’s only goal at Villa Park to power Aston Villa to a rare victory in this fixture. Aston Villa’s victory broke a 15 game winless streak vs. Man City. Manchester City have won each of their last eight matches vs. Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium. Last season, City picked up a 3-1 win over Villa in Manchester.
Man City Still Unbeaten Since December
In one of the most important matches of the season, Manchester City hosted Arsenal on Sunday. City dominated possession of the ball but that didn’t translate to great chances. Man City had just one shot on target and failed to score at home for the first time at home since October 2021. Erling Haaland had precious few touches on the ball and the Arsenal defense seemed to frustrate the Norwegian, who is still the Premier League’s leading scorer this season. With the scoreless draw, Man City remained in third place in the English Premier League standings.
Despite their scoring streak ending, Man City are unbeaten at home since November 2022. The Cityzens are also on a 23 game unbeaten streak, in all competitions. Pep Guardiola decided to leave Julian Alvarez on his bench for the Arsenal match but it’ll be interesting to see if the Argentine gets some minutes here. He provides another dimension to City’s attack when he’s at his best and has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in the EPL this season.
With both other title challengers ahead of them in the standings, Manchester City can’t afford to draw this match. Nothing other than three points will cut it and expect Guardiola to pivot earlier than he did vs. Arsenal if City are struggling to get a goal. Right back Kyle Walker and center back John Stones missed out on Sunday’s match due to injury. It appears Stones will be back sooner than Walker and he may be available on Wednesday.
Watkins a Major Doubt for Aston Villa
On Saturday, Aston Villa hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League match. Unai Emery’s Villa came away with a 2-0 victory, their 11th of the EPL season at Villa Park. Early on, Emi Martinez made a stellar save on Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri to keep the match scoreless. Moussa Diaby opened up the scoring in the 36th minute when a deflected cross found him on the edge of the area and he powered a left-footed finish past Jose Sa.
Ezri Konsa doubled Aston Villa’s lead in the second half with a cross turned chip. Villa remained in fourth place in the EPL standings with the win and they’re in the thick of the Champions League race. Concerningly, striker Ollie Watkins left the Wolves match early with a hamstring injury and he is a major doubt for Wednesday’s game at Manchester City. Watkins leads the Premier League, with 26 direct goal contributions.
If he’s not able to suit up, it’d be a major blow to Villa’s chances in this one. Plus, John McGinn is suspended and he’s been one of the best midfielders in the league this season. Villa’s injury list is rather long, with Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia, Kourtney Hause and Tyrone Mings also out. Jacob Ramsey is also considered doubtful for this one. Regardless, Emery will be able to field a strong side and Villa are 7-4-4 on the road in the Premier League this season.
Man City vs Aston Villa Match Analysis & Odds
Although Manchester City are -335 favorites for Wednesday’s match, they’re still winless vs. the Premier League’s fellow top five teams this season. The Man City vs Aston Villa lines also price visitors Villa at +725 odds, which corresponds to an 11.5 implied percent chance of victory without the vig. That’s undoubtedly influenced by the number of injuries they’re dealing with at the moment.
It’s exceedingly rare that Man City fail to score in back-to-back matches but Haaland has scored in just five of his 13 matches overall. Man City’s Phil Foden was also rather quiet in Sunday’s match vs. Arsenal but he’s their second-leading scorer this season. If Watkins is unable to play for Villa, expect Nicolo Zaniolo to get an opportunity to prove himself here. The Italian has started just seven EPL games this season and has scored two goals.
Man City -1.5, -2 sits at even odds at the moment, while bettors can back Villa +1.5, +2 at -120. It’s been difficult for Aston Villa to even pick up draws on the road at Man City in recent times and a deadlock is priced at +500. Most soccer predictions don’t give Villa much of a shot here, especially without Watkins, who’s scored 16 goals this season.
Villa can try to follow Arsenal’s gameplan vs. City and have the personnel to do it, but whether they have the discipline is another question altogether. Under 3.5 goals show -120 odds for Wednesday’s EPL clash and it wouldn’t be a surprise if this one were quite low scoring.
For EPL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
