Aston Villa vs. Manchester City Preview

After seeing arch rivals Manchester United draw level with them in the race for the Premier League title, only a win will do for Manchester City when they travel to the Midlands to face Aston Villa for the live tea time action on Sunday February 12.

An unexpected reversal at Everton meant that Roberto Mancini`s men left the door open for the Red Devils to close the gap and their three point buffer was fully relinquished after United took care of Stoke City at Old Trafford.

Nevertheless, City responded like champions elect and got themselves right back on track on their next outing against Fulham – a consummate 3-0 success which once again put the pressure back on Alex Ferguson`s side.

But Aston Villa will be expected to provide City with a real test at this crucial stage of the season having come into a decent run of form post-Christmas.

The Villains looked like they were on the cusp of making a charge up the league table following the arrival of experienced hitman Robbie Keane and a thrilling 2-3 derby win over Wolves – only to be denied on their most recent outing by a QPR team with a new lease of life under boss Mark Hughes.

Villa No.1 Alex McLeish sets his side out to be hard to beat and that will be the predicament facing City in this fixture.

The Citizens are hardly in short supply when it comes to creativity however Villa midfielders Petrov and Bannan will look to make their own mark on proceedings whilst suffocating the likes of Silva and Adam Johnson from producing the goods.

Mancini`s latest acquisition David Pizarro may well be introduced to the action at some stage and the Chilean`s quality and winning experience is sure to help guide City towards their long term goals this campaign which hinge largely on their ability to tough out results in games such as this one.

The hosts cannot be taken for granted as they have beaten City twice over the past three seasons at Villa Park however there is a major difference between the visitors now and on those previous occasions.

Mancini`s squad appears to have come of age and the way they responded to their defeat against Everton was nothing short of impressive.

When in the groove and full of confidence, City`s attack is ruthlessly efficient and even Villa`s defensive stalwarts could struggle to pin them down as they seek to keep in the winning habit.

It is 4/6 for an away success and that has to be taken as a decent price looking at the gulf between the two teams – at least in terms of the midfield and up front.

Villa, no matter how sturdy, will do well to keep City at bay whilst at the other end, it is hard to see how they themselves have the firepower and guile to trouble Hart, Lescott and co.

There won’t be many goals in this one but Manchester City look solid from a punting perspective and can comfortably negotiate their way through the assignment at hand, demonstrating their advantage in class and endeavour over the mid-table Midlands men.

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06/02/2012     © Frixo 2024