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Current Premier League champions Manchester City (14-3-4) are set to take the penultimate fixture of Matchweek 23 as they challenge Aston Villa (8-4-9) on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. Check out our Premier League odds series, featuring our Man City-Aston Villa prediction and pick.
The Sky Blues are coming off a 1-0 loss against Tottenham. The defeat prevented Pep Guardiola's side to pick up three valuable points to inch closely to top-of-the-table Arsenal, which lost to Everton. City remains in second place, six points behind the Gunners. Guardiola's squad have an exceptional record against Aston Villa; they are undefeated in their last six fixtures against the West Midlands club.
Meanwhile, the Villans enter the week in 11th place with 28 points. Coming off from a 4-2 defeat against Leicester City, Unai Emery's squad look to snatch three points to get them 13 points ahead of relegation.
Here are the Manchester City-Aston Villa soccer odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
Premier League Odds: Manchester City-Aston Villa Odds
Manchester City: -370
Aston Villa: +1000
Draw: -490
Over 2.5 Goals: -194
Under 2.5 Goals: +158
How to Watch Man City vs. Aston Villa
TV: Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, SiriusXM FC, nbcsports.com, USA Network, Telemundo
Stream: fuboTV, NBC Sports App
Time: 11:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM PT
*Watch soccer LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Manchester City Can Beat Aston Villa
Man City has been caught in a rough spot, as they are charged with over 100 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial fair play rules. While the Cityzens have strongly denied the charges, a gloomy atmosphere will surely be felt at the Etihad. Man City currently has 45 points earned from 14 wins, three draws, and four losses. They are still alive at the FA Cup, previously defeating Arsenal but they lost their chance to win the EFL Carabao Cup after suffering a 2-0 loss versus Southampton.
Although Man City boasts of having the leading playmaker and goalscorer in its stead in Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, other City players have also stepped up in the pitch. Algeria international Riyad Mahrez is on a roll, snatching three goals and four assists across City's last seven matches after starting the season with one goal and one assist in 16 opening matches.
City approaches this match to beat Villa in recent head-to-head fixtures. In the last 14 meetings across all contests, City have 12 wins and two draws. The Blues have not lost to the Lions since September 2013.
John Stones remains out until March, while Phil Foden is expected to see some minutes on the pitch. Guardiola' s 4-3-3 formation will surely be on display, with Ederson Moraes in goal while Rico Lewis, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, and Aymeric Laporte shall be deployed as defenders. Kyle Walker
De Bruyne will return in the midfield after being named on the bench on the past match versus Tottenham, alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri. Mahrez and Haaland will be joined by Jack Grealish in the attack.
Why Aston Villa Can Beat Manchester City
Aston Villa are currently in 11th place in the Premier League standings, picking up eight wins, four losses, and nine draws across 21 matches. After big boss Steven Gerrard was sacked, the Lions have seen improvements under Unai Emery this season. After Villa won just two of their first 12 EPL fixtures of the 2022-2023 Campaign and spent their time in the relegation zone, the former Villarreal boss and Arsenal manager picked up five wins, a draw and just two losses in eight games and have climbed to the middle ranks of the English top flight.
Ollie Watkins and James Maddison exchanged goals in the ninth and 12th minute in last week's fixture, but Villa failed to capitalize on a 2-1 advantage thanks to Harry Soutar's own goal. The Foxes managed to pull off two more goals before the halftime whistle until Dennis Praet sealed the deal in the 79th minute to give Leicester City three points. Villa certainly needs to bounce back in this fixture.
Unai Emery will be without the services of Diego Carlos and Jed Steer because of injury problems. Bertrand Traore is back in full training and might see limited action in future games. Villa are set to line up in a 4-4-2 formation with World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez between the goal sticks. Ashley Young, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa, and Tyrone Mings will be the starting defenders. Ollie Watkins will pair with Leon Bailey in the attack, while Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, and Emiliano Buendia are set to take midfield duties.
Final Man City-Aston Villa Prediction & Pick
Unai Emery has been outstanding in his stead as Aston Villa boss and his squad is capable of squeaking a goal or two on a good day. However, Pep Guardiola's side will look to feed from the cheers of the Manchester faithful and secure the win at home. De Bruyne, Haaland, and Mahrez are primed to make aggressive pressure against a lousy Villa defense, so expect the over to be hit in this game.
Final Man City-Aston Villa Prediction & Pick: Man City (-370), Over 2.5 goals (-194)
