English Premier
2026-10-24 - Aston Villa vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 24th October 2026 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV
Aston Villa
Another home victory in the Champions League has put Aston Villa on track for a top eight finish in that competition and a place in the Last 16. Unai Emery will be pleased with the upturn in recent form, but the manager is also experienced enough to know that his transitioning squad will have to fight through some difficult moments to build up the consistency expected from them.
They return to Premier League action this weekend and Aston Villa have been able to move up into 12th place in the table after a few positive results have been put together. The Villans are still looking for a first home victory in the Premier League having compiled a 0-1-2 record at Villa Park early in this campaign.
Aston Villa's win over Viking in the Champions League means they have extended the unbeaten run to 6 games in all competitions and have won 5 times during that period. Since conceding late in the 1-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa have drawn with Brentford in the Premier League and have beaten Fenerbahce and Viking in the Champions League in games played at Villa Park.
Johan Manzambi missed the win in the Champions League and is considered a doubt for this fixture.
Manchester City
Most of the headlines concerning Manchester City are written about the charges and sanctions they potentially face after being found guilty of 'cheating' before moving into an appeals process. The players and Enzo Maresca are doing their best to focus on matters on the field and Manchester City have bounced back from a humbling defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in a positive manner.
They have a chance to extend the lead at the top of the Premier League table for a few hours at least and Manchester City are the only team in the Division that have won all 7 League games played. The side have a 3-0-0 away record in the Premier League and have scored 8 goals and conceded 1 in those matches.
Manchester City have played 11 games in all competitions since the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and they have won 10 of those fixtures following the thumping success against AEK Athens in the Champions League during the week. They have won all 4 away games played in all competitions this season and Manchester City have earned 3 clean sheets in a row at Porto, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Erling Haaland was given the night off on Tuesday and he should overcome a slight knock to lead the line. Nico O'Reilly, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic are doubts, while Antoine Semenyo has been ruled out until around mid-December.
Head to Head
Aston Villa did the Premier League double over Manchester City last season, including winning at the Etihad Stadium in Pep Guardiola's last game in charge.
They are unbeaten in 4 home games against Manchester City and Aston Villa have won the last 3 of those in succession.
Prediction
There is a lot of external noise around Manchester City and so the players and staff are going to get some credit for the way they have continued to approach matches.
At some point sanctions are likely going to hit the club, but there is an increasing feeling they may not be applied this season.
This may be helping the players focus as Manchester City remained the only team with a perfect Premier League record following the 3-2 win over Ipswich Town last Saturday.
However, it should be said that they have not been the most convincing of teams and there has been plenty of fortune attached to them during this run. They have won all 4 away games played in all competitions, but needed a controversial goal to win at Old Trafford and were in a very evenly matched game at Anfield before Liverpool were reduced to ten men.
Winning matches will give players confidence, but Manchester City have not enjoyed recent visits to Villa Park and they are facing an improving home team.
Aston Villa have not won here in the Premier League, but they have produced back to back Champions League successes in front of the home fans. Unai Emery will be hoping Johan Manzambi is available, but he will be confident his team are able to give Manchester City problems even if the young Swiss star is unavailable.
Defensive injuries are an issue, but the manager is able to set his team up to play with some confidence and they are certainly capable of avoiding being blown away by the visitors.
The Villans have given Arsenal all they can handle at this ground already this season and look improved since that match at the end of August.
Manchester City have found a way to win matches, which makes them dangerous and to be respected, but Aston Villa have enjoyed the match up and they look very capable of making a full goal start on the Asian Handicap pay out.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City
