English Premier
2014-10-04 - Aston Villa vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 4 October 2014 Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Aston Villa
The season started off very brightly for Aston Villa as the new Paul Lambert-Roy Keane partnership had repaired a fractured squad and got the team moving in the right direction. The likes of Alan Hutton and Charles N'Zogbia are almost like new signings for a club that hasn't been spending much money recently now that they have been brought back into the fold, but Aston Villa have also hit the buffers thanks to a difficult run of games.
Even with a couple of losses on their record, Aston Villa are still 6th in the Premier League and well on their way to getting up to the 40 point mark which usually signifies safety from relegation. That remains the main goal even if some fans have begun dreaming about European football, but both Lambert and Keane will keep feet on the ground. Aston Villa have a 1-1-1 home record where they have scored 2 goals and conceded 4.
Aston Villa have lost back to back Premier League games against Arsenal and Chelsea by the same 3-0 scoreline, but still have to face Manchester City and Everton in their next two games. The side have only won 1 of their 4 home games in all competitions this season and the loss to Arsenal at Villa Park two weeks ago would have restored expectations to pre-season levels you would feel.
Ron Vlaar remains a big miss for a team that have conceded six goals in their last two games, but Christian Benteke could play a part for the first time in five months after scoring in a reserve team game.
Manchester City
The Champions League remains a competition that Manchester City have struggled to get their heads around and the 1-1 home draw with Roma on Tuesday would have been a real disappointment for Manuel Pellegrini. The manager will be looking for a response from his side in this live game as they look to pick up another three points to take some confidence going into the international break that follows this weekend.
A mixed start to the defence of their Premier League title has left Manchester City in 3rd place in the table, but it has been a reverse of last season when they were comfortable at home, but struggled for results on their travels. This time, Manchester City have a 2-1-0 record away from home to begin the season and they have scored 8 goals and conceded 4 in those games.
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 4 games in all competitions since losing 1-0 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but they have only won half of those games. The side have won 4 of their last 6 away games in all competitions and are coming into this one off the back of a 2-4 win at Hull City which came last weekend.
Samir Nasri is out for the next month with an injury, but Fernando could return to the squad which would give Manuel Pellegrini a virtually full squad to choose from.
Head to Head
During their poor start away from home last season, Manchester City were beaten 3-2 at Villa Park in a game they led twice.
Aston Villa had lost back to back home games to Manchester City before last season.
Prediction
The last two games against Arsenal and Chelsea have shown that Aston Villa are still far short of the top teams in the Premier League and I think it is going to be another very difficult game for them in front of the TV cameras on Saturday.
The problem for Aston Villa at home is that the fans will expect them to give it a right go against Manchester City and that should give the Champions more of a chance to exploit them on the break.
Last season we saw a very good response from Aston Villa in coming back from two deficits to then beat Manchester City 3-2 at Villa Park, but this Manchester City team is not as vulnerable on their travels as they were at the same stage twelve months ago.
Playing in the Champions League could have introduced some tiredness in the Manchester City squad, but they have many options to change things around and I expect them to respond to the draw with Roma on Tuesday night. Manchester City have been scoring plenty of goals in recent games, especially away from home, and I think Aston Villa will have a tough time trying to contain them.
With the amount of goals at Aston Villa have conceded in their last two games against top opposition, Manchester City are likely to take advantage too with the attacking players at their disposal. Defensively Manchester City haven't been so sound so it is entirely possible that Aston Villa can cause problems themselves as long as they believe in what they can do.
In saying that, Manchester City should win a game where there should be at least three goals shared between the teams.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Aston Villa 1-3 Manchester City
