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Three successive victories has Man City just one point behind league leaders Chelsea, and takes their record in all competitions to five on the bounce as they look to build some momentum heading into the festive period.
So far, so good for Steven Gerrard as he claimed his second win in as many matches when visiting Selhurst Park at the weekend to continue his 100% start to life in the Premier League. This will be a much bigger test of their capabilities though, with City just as dangerous on the road as they are at home.
Indeed, while Pep Guardiola’s outfit would only sit third in an away table, all six sides they’ve travelled to so far this season all currently occupy a top-half place in the table, and they still hold a strong W4-D1-L1 record in such games.
The Manchester side have also won the last seven meetings between these two across all competitions, with Villa not taking a single win since September 2013. With that said though, there’s little value in getting the visitors onside here, especially with the hosts riding a manager bounce at the moment.
Both Teams To Score
However, the goals market looks to be the way to go here. Villa have scored twice in each of their games under Gerrard so far and are looking far more of a threat than they had done earlier in the season.
Although defensively solid, City have conceded 10 goals in their last eight away league games, a run stretching back into last season, while they’ve also conceded in each of their last two visits to Villa Park.
It would be a real shock to see the Champions not get on the scoresheet, and with confidence high in the Villa camp as well, there looks to be good value in the ‘both teams to score’ market.
While City still have the far superior squad, they’ll be missing the creativity that Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden bring, while Aymeric Laporte will be unavailable at the back for the visitors having accumulated one too many yellow cards. City have a poor W1-D1-L1 record in the games the Spanish international hasn’t started this season, though they’ve only conceded once across those games with Stones and Dias remaining a formidable defensive partnership.
Ultimately, Gerrard’s Villa look a rejuvenated outfit at the moment and while it may be a tall order to get something from this City side, there’s very little value in backing the visitors in a game where there’s certainly a small element of uncertainty.
PREDICTION:
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
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