English Premier
2021-12-01 - Aston Villa vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 1st December 2021 - Kick Off 8:15pm
This game is live on TV
Aston Villa
No one should be getting too carried away, but the Steven Gerrard era has gotten off to a perfect start at Villa Park. Back to back wins has Aston Villa moving back up the table, but Gerrard will be the first to tell anyone listening that this is all a work in progress as he gets his ideas across to the entire squad.
There were some relegation concerns that forced Aston Villa to Sack Dean Smith and replace him with Steven Gerrard, but they are now back up to 13th in the Premier League table and they are 7 points clear of the relegation zone. The Villains will return home this week where they have a 3-1-2 record in the Premier League.
Aston Villa had lost 5 Premier League games in a row before the decision was made to change managers, but they have returned from the November international break and produced wins over Brighton and Crystal Palace. Late goals secured the win over Brighton in their last game at Villa Park, but Aston Villa had been beaten by Wolves and West Ham United prior to that victory.
Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet are expected to be ruled out.
Manchester City
You can't win the Premier League title in December, but the festive period has proven to be a time when Manchester City can make full use of their squad and build some real momentum. The Premier League will be the focus for Manchester City over the coming month and results this past weekend have move the Champions onto the shoulder of the leaders Chelsea.
A win over West Ham United and more dropped points for Chelsea means Manchester City are 2nd in the Premier League table and a point behind the current leaders. They have back to back away games in the days ahead and Manchester City will be looking to improve their 4-1-1 record on their travels in the top flight.
Manchester City have won 5 in a row in all competitions and they have scored 7 goals in their wins since returning from the November international break. All 3 of those wins since the internationals have been at home, but Manchester City have won 3 of their last 4 away games in all competitions heading into this fixture.
Aymeric Laporte is suspended and both Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden are doubts. Another doubt is Jack Grealish who will be doing everything he can to face his former club.
Head to Head
Manchester City did the Premier League double over Aston Villa last season.
They are unbeaten in 5 visits to Villa Park and Manchester City have won 4 of those games.
Prediction
You have to be a little impressed with the way that Steven Gerrard's first two games managing Aston Villa have gone, but I also think this is a squad that have been underachieving this season. While we will never know if Dean Smith could have gotten a reaction from the squad, I do think Aston Villa are capable of stringing some positive results together.
The players are working hard for their new manager, but I also think Aston Villa have been fortunate to beat both Brighton and Crystal Palace. They are going to need to be a lot better to see off Manchester City, even with the injuries faced by the Champions, and this is going to be a test for the young, inexperienced Aston Villa manager who has rarely pitted wits with someone like Pep Guardiola.
It was part of the reason Steven Gerrard wanted to manage in the Premier League and he will be working on his team to show defensive discipline and try and frustrate the Manchester City attack. That has been the approach for Aston Villa in their wins over the last couple of games, but I do think it will be a different test to try and contain Manchester City.
Even without Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, Manchester City have created chances and looked capable of scoring goals. Raheem Sterling may not have been given a lot of opportunities to this point of the season, but he has taken his chances back in the starting line up and Manchester City have refused to miss a beat because of injuries.
Defensively they have looked largely secure and Aston Villa will have to take their chances on the counter attack and hope for something to break their way. Manchester City simply don't offer a lot of spaces, while the Crystal Palace blueprint has been difficult for teams to replicate.
Aston Villa may have the speed and quality to try and do that, but I think Manchester City have momentum. They have won 3 of their last 4 away games in all competitions, while Manchester City are dominating the chances in recent games that should be the direction this fixture ends up developing.
As much as the results have improved under their new manager, Aston Villa have yet to really convince and now they have to take on the hottest team in the Premier League. Aston Villa have a poor recent home record against Manchester City and I think the visitors will produce a big performance at Villa Park once again.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Aston Villa 0-2 Manchester City
