Emi Buendia has been an underrated player in this Villa side for some time, registering 20 goal contributions across all competitions for Unai Emery’s side last season - with the Argentine having a record of delivering against the elite sides in the division.

Buendia bundled home Villa’s winner against Arsenal at Villa Park last season, as well as scoring in the quarter finals, semi finals and final of the Europa League as Villa lifted the trophy. He’s already scored against Tottenham and Club Brugge this season, as well as netting against Viking in the Champions League during the week.

Buendia has had 14 shots in total across his seven starts in the Premier League (2.33 per 90). We’d need him to be more clinical with his efforts here, as only two of those have found the target, but he’s emerged as Unai Emery’s surprise package over the last year and can be a threat to City here. 

I love this market for players like Enzo Fernandez, who is equally as likely to lose his head, as he is to score a brilliant goal.

We know that Enzo Maresca sees Fernandez as more of a box to box midfielder, rather than a player that will sit deep and dictate the game. This is why City opted for Bouaddi and Anderson over the summer, Fernandez was never expected to play that deeper role.

Fernandez has scored one goal for City so far, with that strike coming against Sunderland from a clever free kick. He’s had eight shots in total (1.83 per 90), with the majority of these efforts coming when Fernandez ghosts into the box when the ball has gone wide.

This is particularly effective for City as they have Haaland as a constant box presence who takes most of the attention from opposition centre backs, opening space for Fernandez to arrive in the box.

Fernandez has also collected one yellow card so far this term, picking up that caution in the Manchester derby. He reached double digits for goals and cards last season (10), underlining why Fernandez is a good player to back in this market.

No side has won more fouls in the Premier League than Aston Villa since Unai Emery took over, and that’s not a coincidence.

Villa have topped the foul won rankings in each of the last two seasons, and it’s linked to how they set up. Most of Villa’s play tends to be quite narrow, with the wide forwards not really operating as wingers and the fullbacks carrying the width.

Only three Villa players have won more fouls than Cash (8 - 1.51 per 90) in the Premier League this season, with the fullback drawing at least one foul in four of his last five games.

He’ll be in a tangle with Doku for most of the game, but when Cash can get forward he will be an asset to Villa and a target to be hauled down as one of the main outlets in this Villa side.

I think Unai Emery is going to task John McGinn with keeping an eye on Jeremy Doku here to help out Matty Cash, with the Belgian winger often requiring at least two pairs of hands.

McGinn is almost as good at winning fouls as Doku, though they go about it slightly differently. Doku won 61 fouls in the Premier League last season, more than any other City player (3.08 per 90). He attempted 7.47 dribbles per 90, also more than anyone else in the squad, which is a good indicator for winning fouls.

McGinn has picked up two yellow cards across his six Premier League starts already this season, and is a reliable player to assign a role like this to. He’s also collected a yellow card in the Champions League this term, as well as picking up a caution for Scotland over the recent international break.

Erling Haaland has had more shots on target than any other player in the Premier League this season, averaging 1.89 shots on target per 90 across his seven starts and netting eight goals in the process.

Haaland had three shots on target when City visited Villa Park last season, accounting for 75% of the shots on target that City had in that 1-0 defeat. 

He was rested for City’s win over AEK Athens during the week, so should be fully fit for this clash against a Villa side who also competed in the Champions League during the week. 

He’s had at least one shot on target in all three of his away matches in the Premier League this term, managing three efforts on target in City’s 4-1 win over Palace earlier in the season.

Villa are having issues with keeping the opposition shot count down, conceding 15.86 shots per game and 4.43 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season.

Johan Manzambi is a doubt for this game, which is a real blow for Villa as he’s started the season really well, but Jackson has been the other standout across the opening months of the season for Unai Emery’s side.

Jackson has long received criticism he doesn’t really deserve, it’s true that he could be a bit more clinical with the positions he gets in - but the fact he keeps getting in these situations is a real positive, as is his ability to carry the ball and bring others into play.

It’s also notable that he’s being coached by Unai Emery now, who has made a habit of improving strikers just like Jackson - with Watkins’ rise as a top striker being mainly down to the advice of Emery.

Jackson has scored two goals across his six starts in the Premier League this season, taking 16 shots across these matches (3.07 per 90) and seeing five of these efforts find the target (0.96 per 90).

Marc Guehi is one of the most consistent centre backs in the Premier League when it comes to winning fouls, drawing eight across his seven starts this season (1.14 per 90).

He’s incredibly comfortable on the ball, averaging 96.6 touches per 90 and 80.3 successful passes per 90. These metrics are relevant because it shows just how much of the ball Guehi sees, increasing the chances of him being fouled.

Aston Villa are averaging 10.7 fouls committed per game in the Premier League this term, and I’m particularly interested in Guehi’s battle with Jackson. The former Chelsea striker’s foul numbers aren’t anything standout, but he is easily frustrated - especially against sides that are as good at keeping the ball as City.

Guehi has been fouled in four of his last five Premier League matches, and only three City players have won more fouls than the former Crystal Palace centre back this term.

Aston Villa have recovered from a sluggish start to the campaign, just as they did last year, and enter this clash having avoided defeat in each of their last seven matches - winning six of these games.

They’ve only kept two clean sheets during this run, against Newcastle and Fenerbahce, but still conceded an xG of 0.99 or higher in both of those games. Lindelof and Mings are not that convincing a pairing, and I think both will struggle to deal with Haaland.

City have seen BTTS in each of their last three matches ahead of this clash, conceding twice against Ipswich in their last home game. I still think there are issues for Maresca to address with City’s rest defence - a weakness that Jackson is perfect to exploit as a solid ball carrier.

Matty Cash will have a tough job trying to stop Jérémy Doku, who's being fouled an average of 3.72 times per 90 minutes this season.

Doku completed 84 successful dribbles in the Premier League last season, more than anyone else, and was also the fourth most fouled player in the league.

The Aston Villa right-back has already picked up three yellow cards this season and has been giving away fouls regularly, averaging 2.08 per 90 minutes in the Premier League.

That's nothing new for Cash, either. He picked up more yellow cards than anyone else at Villa last season, with nine.

Peter Bankes has averaged four cards per game in his four Premier League matches this season, and he even booked Cash in the defeat to Brighton.

With Doku being such a tricky player to deal with and a referee who doesn't let too much go, Cash could be in for a tough afternoon against City.

Jan Paul van Hecke has given away at least one foul in all seven of his Premier League games this season and has picked up two yellow cards in his last three matches.

He also finished last season with nine yellow cards in 36 games, seven of them coming away from home.

He'll mainly be up against João Pedro, who's been fouled more than anyone else at Chelsea this season, averaging 2.33 per game.

If he plays on the right side of Tottenham's central defence, van Hecke could also come up against Morgan Rogers, who plays on the left side of the attack and has been fouled six times in three home games.

Chris Kavanagh has been showing plenty of cards this season, handing out at least five in each of his five Premier League games so far.

With such dangerous players to deal with and a referee who's shown three red cards in his last three games, things aren't looking great for van Hecke this Saturday.

Johan Manzambi is a doubt for this game, which is a real blow for Villa as he’s started the season really well, but Jackson has been the other standout across the opening months of the season for Unai Emery’s side.

Jackson has long received criticism he doesn’t really deserve, it’s true that he could be a bit more clinical with the positions he gets in - but the fact he keeps getting in these situations is a real positive, as is his ability to carry the ball and bring others into play.

It’s also notable that he’s being coached by Unai Emery now, who has made a habit of improving strikers just like Jackson - with Watkins’ rise as a top striker being mainly down to the advice of Emery.

Jackson has scored two goals across his six starts in the Premier League this season, taking 16 shots across these matches (3.07 per 90) and seeing five of these efforts find the target (0.96 per 90).

Jeremy Doku will be the danger man for the visitors.

The Belgian international was a standout performer against Liverpool a few weeks ago, coming off the bench to get Ryan Gravenberch sent off, before scoring a wonderful goal at Anfield. He followed that up by landing this bet against PSG at the Etihad.

After finishing last season on a real high, Doku has carried that momentum into the new campaign, and he is playing with confidence at the moment. Additionally, he has had plenty of time to recover prior to this match, after being rested against AEK Athens midweek.

Bukayo Saka lasted just ten minutes against Bayern Munich midweek before being substituted due to injury, which means Noni Madueke should start on the right wing this weekend. He scored the decisive goal against Nottingham Forest last weekend to earn his side a big three points, so he should be full of confidence. 

Everton were most recently beaten 2-0 by Chelsea, with both goals scored by Pedro Neto. The Portuguese international operates on the right wing, the same position as Madueke, which bodes well for this selection.

Jack Rudoni has scored in back-to-back Premier League matches heading into this match, so he is one to keep an eye on here. The 25-year-old scored the opening goal as Coventry beat Newcastle 4-1, before again getting on the scoresheet against Spurs on Monday night.

Rudoni has accrued a total of 12 shots this season, averaging 2.03 shots per 90 across all competitions this season, and he tends to be accurate when chances fall to his feet. 

Exactly half of his efforts have hit the target, and Rudoni already has three goals to his name across all competitions. Rudoni bagged seven goals in 30 Championship appearances last season for Coventry, and he has looked comfortable in the top flight so far.

James Maddison marked his first Tottenham start since May 2025 with a goal during Monday’s 3-1 victory over Coventry. The midfielder opened the scoring with a curling effort from outside the penalty area, which nestled into the top corner. That kind of individual magic is exactly what Spurs have been missing over the last few months. 

Prior to his start against Coventry, Maddison made three successive appearances off the bench, and he landed this selection in two of those. That includes two shots on target against Liverpool in the EFL Cup, despite only playing 15 minutes. Maddison has looked sharp, and eager to get back to his previous levels, so he is one to target in the final third in this London derby at Stamford Bridge. 

Enzo Fernandez is averaging 1.45 fouls per 90 since arriving at Man City, and he has landed this selection in three of his seven starts. This upcoming matchup against Aston Villa looks like an excellent chance for the Argentina international to improve his hit-rate, as Fernandez will find duels against the likes of Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Emi Buendia in midfield. There is also a chance Johan Manzambi will be available again, after he missed out against Viking midweek. 

Unai Emery’s men were fouled 14 times in the Champions League midweek, and 14 times again by Newcastle last time out in the league. A lot of those fouls are concentrated in midfield areas, which makes Fernandez a target at Villa Park.

James Garner has only committed six fouls in his eight starts across all competitions this season, averaging 0.81 fouls per 90, but this will be one of his toughest matchups of the campaign. The Everton midfielder will find duels against the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Eberechi Eze and Bruno Guimaraes - players who are adept at drawing contact. 

Arsenal were fouled 15 times by Bayern Munich midweek, taking their average to 14.1 fouls drawn per game this season. That is a notable increase on their average of 11.5 fouls drawn per 90 last season. Mikel Arteta’s men have been a bit more direct this campaign, with their games a bit more scrappy than controlled, so Everton are unlikely to be penned into their own box.

After securing their first Premier League win of the season against Hull last time out, Fulham will look to build on that this weekend. Josh King looks set to start in the advanced midfield spot again, and the 19-year-old has been a standout performer so far.

He was fouled four times against Hull last time out, taking this average of 1.79 fouls drawn per 90 this season, which is one of the highest figures in the Fulham squad. 

He will find duels against Caleb Yirenki in midfield at the Coventry Building Society Stadium here - the Ghanaian international is averaging 3.28 fouls per 90 this campaign.

James Maddison played a key role as Spurs beat Coventry last weekend, which was also their first win of the season. On his first start this term, Maddison scored from outside the box, and he was also fouled four times before being replaced after 70 minutes.

Maddison looks set for a big role this season under Roberto De Zerbi, and he seems to be back at full fitness. This is perhaps the biggest fixture of gameweek eight in the Premier League, as Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge. Last time these sides met, there were 29 fouls in the game, and the reverse fixture saw 26 infringements.

Another player who has been adept at drawing fouls this season is Joao Pedro. The Brazilian is averaging 2.34 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions.

Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have also been difficult to contain, averaging 3.03 fouls drawn per 90 combined. Jan Paul Van Hecke will have the tough task of trying to contain that trio, and it could be a tough evening for the Dutchman. 

Van Hecke is averaging 1.3 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, and he has landed this selection in seven of his eight starts. He has also picked up two yellow cards in that time.

The centre back likes to be aggressive in his duels, and this is an excellent matchup to target him.

Aston Villa have recovered from a sluggish start to the campaign, just as they did last year, and enter this clash having avoided defeat in each of their last seven matches - winning six of these games.

They’ve only kept two clean sheets during this run, against Newcastle and Fenerbahce, but still conceded an xG of 0.99 or higher in both of those games. Lindelof and Mings are not that convincing a pairing, and I think both will struggle to deal with Haaland.

City have seen BTTS in each of their last three matches ahead of this clash, conceding twice against Ipswich in their last home game. I still think there are issues for Maresca to address with City’s rest defence - a weakness that Jackson is perfect to exploit as a solid ball carrier.

Sassuolo just can't seem to keep a clean sheet in Serie A, with BTTS landing in every single one of their games this season.

It's been the same story away from home. They've scored in all four games, but they've also conceded at least twice in every one of them.

They've averaged 17 shots per game away from home, but have also allowed 17 at the other end, which helps explain why we're seeing four goals per game.

Como smashed Manchester United 4-1 in midweek and have been putting up some impressive attacking numbers themselves, averaging 18.80 shots per game.

The problem for the home side is that they've only managed one clean sheet all season.

Nico Paz has taken more shots than anyone else in Serie A and has scored three goals in his last two games. He's also been confirmed to play.

With Como's number 10 available and Berardi expected to start for Sassuolo, there's even more reason to expect goals from both sides here.

Both teams have scored in all six of Werder Bremen's Bundesliga games this season, including a 2-2 draw against Dortmund, who have the best defence in the league.

There's no denying Bremen have looked dangerous going forward against teams like Leipzig and Freiburg, but they're also giving up an average of 15 shots per game and making plenty of mistakes at the back.

They even conceded twice at home against Paderborn last time out, who were third from bottom going into that game.

Mainz have been just as unpredictable, with some crazy games lately, including two 4-3 scorelines. They've even struggled defensively against bottom side Mönchengladbach.

The good news for both teams is that they have two of the Bundesliga's top scorers, with Niclas Füllkrug on six goals and Phillip Tietz on five.

With neither defence looking capable of keeping a clean sheet and both teams having strikers in such good form, this has all the makings of another goal-filled Bundesliga game.

Both teams have scored in every Racing Santander home game this season, with Racing still unbeaten at home and scoring at least twice in each of those La Liga matches.

Their games have been full of goals, partly because of their defence, which is the worst in the league with 25 goals conceded in nine games.

Against Barcelona, for example, they managed to score twice against the league leaders but ended up conceding seven.

Espanyol have been pretty consistent going forward too, scoring in all four of their away games in La Liga this season.

They'll have a good chance of keeping that run going, with Racing allowing an average of 16 shots per game and having an xGA of 2.34.

Racing keep finding the net at home, but with a defence this shaky, Espanyol should get plenty of chances to score too.

HamKam haven't kept a clean sheet in their last five home games and now face a Rosenborg side that's scored 12 goals in their last five away matches.

HamKam's defensive problems are nothing new. They've conceded the third-most goals in the Eliteserien, with 48 goals allowed in 23 games and an xGA of 1.87.

Their attack has been much more reliable, though. They've only failed to score in one of their 11 home games this season, and that came last time out against league leaders Bodø/Glimt, who have the best defence in the league.

Rosenborg have been playing better and scoring plenty of goals, but their defence isn't exactly solid either. They have an away xGA of 1.91 and have conceded 10 goals in their last five away games.

They've been giving opponents plenty of chances too, allowing an average of 15 shots and 5.6 shots on target per away game.

With both teams scoring regularly but struggling to keep goals out, it wouldn't be a surprise to see goals at both ends here.

ADO Den Haag still haven't managed a clean sheet this season, having conceded in all nine Eredivisie games so far.

They come into this one after a big 2-1 home win against PSV, with BTTS now landing in all four of their home games.

Their attack has found the net in the last three games and has already shown it can cause problems for even the best defences. 

Away to Feyenoord, for example, Den Haag went 2-0 up before letting their opponents come back to draw.

Heerenveen's away games have been pretty entertaining too, with 2-2 draws against Ajax and Willem II, as well as a 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam.

They've actually been more comfortable away from home, scoring more goals on the road than they have in front of their own fans.

Den Haag are getting better going forward but still allowing an average of 17 shots per game, while Heerenveen have been looking dangerous away from home. That makes another game with goals at both ends look pretty likely.

Erling Haaland has had more shots on target than any other player in the Premier League this season, averaging 1.89 shots on target per 90 across his seven starts and netting eight goals in the process.

Haaland had three shots on target when City visited Villa Park last season, accounting for 75% of the shots on target that City had in that 1-0 defeat. 

He was rested for City’s win over AEK Athens during the week, so should be fully fit for this clash against a Villa side who also competed in the Champions League during the week. 

He’s had at least one shot on target in all three of his away matches in the Premier League this term, managing three efforts on target in City’s 4-1 win over Palace earlier in the season.

Villa are having issues with keeping the opposition shot count down, conceding 15.86 shots per game and 4.43 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season.