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Aston Villa v Man City
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Kick Off: Saturday 21st December at 12:30
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Competition: Premier League
The struggling Cityzens make the journey to Villa Park for this Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off. With just 1 win from their last 11 fixtures across all competitions, Pep’s out-of-form side will be desperate to earn some crucial points this weekend.
⭐ Aston Villa v Man City Best Bet
Manchester City have drawn once and lost 6 times in their last 7 away matches across all competitions. Having Ballon D’Or winner Rodri missing through injury is proving too difficult for Pep Guardiola’s side to handle and they look devoid of confidence and a different side to the one that has swept away all before them in recent seasons.
Aston Villa have performed well v Man City at Villa Park in the last two seasons, drawing 1-1 in 2022/23 and winning 1-0 in 2023/24 – Leon Bailey scoring the Villa goal in both matches.
Aston Villa will be motivated by knowing that they can bunny-hop above Man City into 5th in the table if they beat them on Saturday lunchtime. Villa have lost just once at home in the Premier League this season and are also unbeaten at Villa Park in the Champions League.
Villa, with home comforts to support them, can get a result against their opponents for a third season running.
🟢 Aston Villa v Man City #WhatOddsPaddy Tip
Aston Villa average 6.44 corners per game in the Premier League this season, while they have had 3+ corners in each half in 6/16 Premier League matches.
Man City average 8.69 corners per game in the Premier League this season, while they have had 3+ corners in each half in 10/16 Premier League matches.
City are not the dominating force they once were, and this match could turn into an end-to-end encounter, giving this longshot a real possibility of landing at a generous 12/1.
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👕 Aston Villa v Man City Predicted XI
🔍 Aston Villa v Man City Players to Watch
🟣 Diego Carlos
It’s worth taking a chance on Diego Carlos in the foul markets. It’s likely that Erling Haaland will be Carlos’s direct opponent on the pitch. Haaland has only drawn 11 fouls all season across all competitions. But it’s possible that Carlos could find himself in wider areas at times where he could be face-to-face with Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish or Phil Foden – all of whom attract a large number of fouls.
In the Premier League, Doku has suffered 1.84 fouls per 90, Grealish 2.68 fouls per 90 and Foden 1.68 fouls per 90.
The other thing to take into account is Carlos’s preferred mode of defending. He’s aggressive, foot-footed by nature and likes to get touch-tight when marking. Carlos’s fouls numbers in all competitions this season read 0-0-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-1-2-0-2-0.
Carlos has committed 2+ fouls in a game on 4 occasions this season, in Champions League games v Club Brugge, Juventus and RB Leipzig and away at Liverpool in the Premier League.
🔵 Matheus Nunes
Matheus Nunes has played many different roles for Manchester City this season but whether he lines up in his natural position of central midfield, out wife, or even at full-back, Nunes’ foul numbers have been consistent.
Across all competitions, Nunes averages 1.44 fouls per game. His foul numbers this season read 0-0-0-1-1-0-0-1-2-0-1-1-4-2-2-1-2-0-1.
What’s evident is that there are 7 matches where Nunes hasn’t committed a foul. But the minutes Nunes played in these 7 matches were 6-24-1-7-13-101-6. Nunes has committed a minimum of 1 foul in every match that he has started this season and made multiple fouls 5 times.
📂 Aston Villa v Man City Cheat Sheet
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We’ve got plenty more in store for Saturday’s slate, look out for our Crystal Palace v Arsenal Betting Preview and West Ham v Brighton Bet Builder Predictions, as well as Brentford v Nottingham Forest Tips. We’ve got an Early Kick-Off Acca, 100/1 Mega Acca, Premier League Hit Rates Accumulator and EFL Acca Tips in store too, plus Shots on Target Predictions.
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Look out for our World Darts Championship Tips this winter with our Day 7 World Darts Championship Accumulator available now.
💻 Aston Villa v Man City Form and Tactics
With Leon Bailey injured and Jaden Philogene out of form, in recent matches, Aston Villa have reverted to a hybrid 4-4-2 that shifts to a 3-4-2-1 in possession.
Matty Cash and Lucas Digne provide the width with Morgan Rogers and John McGinn operating around the Striker. Who plays the forward role is up for debate, Ollie Watkins was relegated to the substitutes bench for last weekend’s defeat at Nottingham Forest after coming off with a slight injury in the midweek Champions League game that proceeded it. Jhon Duran, not for the first time this season, took his opportunity by scoring a goal.
Villa are 10th in the 5-game form table having picked up 7 points from the last possible 15. Villa remain relatively strong at home, their Villa Park record this season is W4 D3 L1. Villa can point to 2 late goals conceded to explain why they are underperforming expected points this season, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth both turned matches around in added-time against Villa in recent weeks.
It’s difficult to second-guess how Man City will line up. As aforementioned, Pep Guardiola has been scrambling around and failing to find a winning formula since midfield linchpin Rodri was ruled out with a long-term injury.
They still possess the highest average possession per match in the division with 62.9% but they are only 7th in the league for expected points and sit 17th in the 5-game form table.
After scoring 10 goals in his first 5 Premier League matches this season, Erling Haaland has scored just 3 times in his last 11 Premier League matches.
Manchester City struggled to break down Manchester United’s 3-4-2-1 in open play last weekend and after 2 late goals lost 2-1. Unai Emery will likely line Villa up in a similar guise.
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🏁 Aston Villa v Man City Ref Watch
- Referee: Peter Bankes
- Averages 4.33 cards per game this season in 12 matches officiated.
- Hasn’t shown a red card this season.
- Has given 4 penalties this season, including 3 in Wolves v Bournemouth.
Football Predictions at Andy’s Bet Club
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Expert guides, such as this one, on xG in Football, are also available to help you up your punting game.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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