Ruthless City to relish fixture congestion
Aston Villa host Manchester City on Saturday evening with Steven Gerrard beginning to feel the pressure in the dugout at Villa Park.
Gerrard’s men had an opportunity to alleviate some of the scrutiny over his position in hosting West Ham United on Sunday, the Hammers had not scored or picked up a point heading into the fixture but took a 1-0 win back to the capital thanks to Pablo Fornals’ finish.
City will have the bit between their teeth until they return to the summit of the table this season and despite Arsenal’s promising start the visitors are still firm favourites to retain their crown.
Background
Losing Diego Carlos for the rest of the season is an enormous blow for Villa, and as a result of it the club may be looking to dip into the transfer market before the deadline.
Tyrone Mings has proven over the last couple of seasons that he is one of the more mistake-prone centre backs in the division.
City can certainly capitalise on that with their incredible array of attacking talent.
Villa’s trip to Arsenal in midweek, followed by hosting the champions will give a good assessment of their rearguard and at the moment they are struggling to justify anything more than a season in lower mid-table.
City looked vulnerable in going 2-0 down at home to Crystal Palace last time out, however, for the second game in a row, the way they turned it around was mightily impressive and there are not many sides that can live with Pep Guardiola’s men when they are on their game.
It will be interesting to see how City manage their squad with two games in the week, but with five substitutions being introduced it is going to be easier for City to rest and rotate.
Erling Haaland is already at the top of the scoring charts in his first season in the Premier League, and the Norwegian is threatening to pull away.
Villa could have a new face or two to throw into this match, with some transfers being considered due to their poor start to the season.
The prices are yet to catch up to just how dominant City can be, if both sides continue in the vein that they have started the season, the visitors would be much shorter to win the game, and Villa are still being looked on favourably due to the reputation of some of the individuals in their squad and the size of the club.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
1-1, a great point for Villa.