Manchester City v Aston Villa - Premier League Preview

Manchester City find themselves in a remarkably similar position to the last time that they won the Premier League title just two season ago. After an excellent run of victories, the club backed by the oil money of the Abu Dhabi United Group need just two home wins to secure their second title of the Premier League era. Every city fan will treasure their first title forever, which was also earned via an excellent and unlikely unbroken sequence of victories towards the end of the season.

Very few people will be expecting City to slip up. For these crucial games, there could certainly be worse opponents for City than Aston Villa and West Ham two mediocre teams who also have very little to play for. City also have all of their key players back in the fold now, with David Silva having made an appearance as substitute against Everton, and they must be overwhelming favourites to see off a Villa side who have had a pretty lacklustre season.

That said, Villa are an unpredictable outfit. Although at times this campaign they have looked fairly pathetic, they are more than capable of playing some brilliant counter-attacking football and blowing City away. It is the sort of hot and cold team that they are.

However, City should be thoroughly focused and determined ahead of this fixture. Not only do they know that two wins over two mediocre teams will definitely win them the title, not only have they been in this position before while Liverpool haven’t, but they also have no other distractions. City have two matches left, and the success or otherwise of their season will entirely depend on them.

That said, City also know thought that they’ve already slipped up once at the Etihad in recent weeks. The game against Sunderland at the Etihad was almost a total disaster for their title hopes, and at the time it looked as if Liverpool were strong favourites. As it turns out Samir Nasri’s late equaliser has enabled City to retain control over their own destiny in this nip and tuck title race. The obvious difference between that game and their remaining fixtures, though, is that Sunderland are threatened with relegation and were obviously hugely motivated to do well. Villa and West Ham will have no such motivation.

I cannot see a City side at full strength, with the likes of Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero all fit enough to start, being stopped by Villa. Aside from that Sunderland game and a 0-1 reverse to the always competitive Chelsea, City have pretty much battered all visitors to the Etihad Stadium, and I think they’ll pick up the three points that they need here. In terms of betting, backing City to win is pointless because their odds are too short. I would recommend looking elsewhere for viable selections for this fixture, as when one of the top sides in the division faces one with little to fight for, you can expect goals aplenty.

Safe Bet – Over 3.5 goals (17/20 with BetVictor) Value Bet – Manchester City to win by 3 goals (7/2 with paddy Power)

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05/05/2014     © Frixo 2026